Cupid's Game Board
by Mystical Pen
Summary: "You have to make the Head boy fall in love with you." That was the consequence that Hermione had to do because she lost a bet with Ginny. She had to do it or else she'll feel the wrath of FATE. Unfortunately for Hermione, the Headboy was... Draco Malfoy.
1. The Lost Bet

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I don't own anything, okay?

AN: Okay, this was written for A Very Potter Challenge of HPJellicleCat.

The quote I got was:_**"No, it's not that, it's Hermione. It's just like, I can't get her outta my head and every time I look at her, I have these pains in my chest and I just know it's her fault... that bitch..."**_

And the character I got was: _Hermy-one/Herman._

…So here goes nothing! Please read and review!

Edited: December 27, 2010 AN: I edited this chapter to add and change some of the details but the plot is still the same. I just fixed it so that the story will be better.

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Cupid's Game Board

A DraMione FanFic

By: Mieux-Mystery-Otaku

Chapter 1: The Lost Bet

* * *

Hermione and Harry had decided to spend the whole summer at the Burrow. It was already the last two weeks before the start of the new term at Hogwarts and they were already making the most out of it.

Hermione originally intended to go back to Hogwarts after the war but Ron and Harry took a lot of convincing before they said yes. Harry, being together again with Ginny, said yes in order to spend more time with her and in order to continue his ambition of being an Auror. But in Ron's side, Hermione and Ginny weren't exactly sure what the contributing factor was…or rather…WHO the contributing factor was.

"Who do you think it is?" Hermione whispered to Ginny. Ron was currently sitting at the dining table but unlike the usual, he wasn't eating. He was writing a letter. A love letter, to be exact.

Ginny shrugged her shoulders as an answer. "To whom is he writing this time?" She stood at the couch and peeked at the letter Ron was writing. "Luna and Pansy, just like always. I wonder who his real girlfriend is."

When Ron heard whispers behind him, he immediately turned around and looked at the two girls.

Ginny, who was formerly standing on the couch, immediately sat down when she saw Ron starting to turn around. She pretended to fiddle with something on her shirt while Hermione pretended to fold her sleeves.

Ron, failing to see something unusual with the two, just shrugged and went back to what he was doing.

"I don't know. I don't remember him saying something about those two to me and Harry." Hermione shrugged her shoulders. She got up and started to go out to the garden. Ginny followed her.

"Ron never talks about those kinds of things, Hermione." Ginny cocked an eyebrow. Her face was saying something like 'DUH!' And then she smirked. But it wasn't just a simple smirk. Along with it, she had this certain gleam in her eyes that was so familiar to Hermione. "Wanna bet instead?"

"Bet? You want to have a pool involving your brother's love life?" asked Hermione incredulously. It was already safe to talk in normal volume now that they were outside the house and out of Ron's earshot.

"Why not? It will be fun, don't you think? Now, come on." Ginny urged. She tugged on Hermione's sleeve.

Hermione gently shook her head at the redhead, her lips curving into a smile. "You never change."

"Would you want me to?" Ginny pouted. But she didn't wait for an answer. "Now, come on. It's just a bet. Please?"

Hermione sighed in defeat. "Do I have a choice?"

"No," came the nonchalant answer.

"Okay, then. Seeing as my opinion doesn't matter the least bit. I'm in." Hermione agreed in resignation.

"YAY! But about the consequences…Hmmmm. I can't think of anything yet at the moment. Why don't we just say the consequences when we already know the winner?"

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so," Ginny started, "Oh, wait, I know! Let's do the Oath of Fate first."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Wait, what? The Oath of Fate? Are you mad?" She almost screamed at her face. "The Oath of Fate is like another version of the Unbreakable Vow! You must be out of your mind!"

"Ain't I always?" Ginny smiled sweetly at Hermione. That only made Hermione's eyes widen even more in horror.

"Oh, no. No. Definitely not! I'm not taking that oath just because of a bet about your lovesick brother." Hermione raised her hands in the air, palms up, as a final gesture to her refusal.

Ginny's nose crinkled. "Come on, it's not like you're gonna die if you break an oath of fate." Ginny argued.

"Oh, not death, yes. But Queen Fate will have the time of her eternal life playing with you! And Lady Luck will definitely not vouch support for you!" Hermione explained, her arms flinging exasperatedly. "You will experience not only bad, but terrible luck. Don't you get the idea of that? You will be cursed all your life, bad luck will follow you. Fate will play with you. You'll be as good as dead if you break the oath, Ginny."

"That's right, IF you break the oath. That's the point, Hermione. You aren't planning on breaking the oath, are you?" Ginny looked at Hermione.

"Of course not!" Hermione huffed indignantly. Never in her life had Hermione broken a promise.

"There you go. If you're not going to break the oath, you have nothing to worry about." Ginny happily said.

"But, but, but!"

"No buts!"

"But…Just BUT!"

"Oh, come on, Hermione! You have nothing to worry about, I promise you. Besides, we haven't even talked about your punishment. I promise, your consequence wouldn't be too painful." Ginny finished with a wink.

Hermione snorted as she put her hands on her hips-something that both she and Ginny always do along with the trademark raised eyebrow. "Heh! Wait right there, young woman. Who told you that you'll win, may I ask? You won't win against me!"

"Oh really?" Ginny challenged, her stance mirroring Hermione's.

"Yes, really! Okay then, you're on!" She finally agreed. But somewhere in her pathetic mind, she had the thought that something would go definitely wrong.

"That's my girl!" Ginny squealed in delight. She held out her left hand while she took out her wand with her right.

Hermione held out her hand as well but instead of clasping her and Ginny's palms together like what someone would do to perform the ritual for the Unbreakable vow; they just hooked their index fingers together.

Ginny raised her wand, pointed it at her finger and started saying her promise. "I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, hereby promise to do whatever Hermione Jean Granger will tell me to, if ever I lose, as a consequence for our bet." The tip of Ginny's wand illuminated with silver light as she finished her oath. The light landed on the base of her index finger.

Hermione took a deep breath before whipping out her own wand and pointing as well to her finger. She started her oath. "I, Hermione Jean Granger, hereby promise to do whatever Ginevra Molly Weasley will tell me to, if ever I lose, as a consequence for our bet." Hermione finished and then an identical shade of light erupted from her wand and landed at her finger.

The light magically encircled the bases of their fingers until it formed a gleaming band of silver around their fingers. The light faded but in its place, now rested a brown mark, a symbol of their oath to remind them of the consequences of breaking the magical promise.

"Wow, that's kinda creepy." Ginny said and then she pocketed her wand.

"Tell me about it." Hermione replied as she surveyed the dark brown mark on her finger while thinking… _This can't be good…_ But then an idea struck her. She didn't have to pick the losing side, right? If there was someone who Ron would have as a girlfriend, the girl will more probably turn out to be Luna. "Okay then, I bet Luna!"

Ginny appeared to be startled by Hermione's sudden statement. Not to mention shocked to hear her pick Luna. Her eyes widened. "Whoa! Wait, I'm supposed to pick Luna!"

"No, no, no! I picked her first. You have to go for Pansy now." Hermione said triumphantly.

"Ugh! Not fair! Right after doing the oath. Ugh! You dirty player! Fine, then! I go for Pansy." Ginny sulked.

"That's what you get for being slow."

Ginny stuck her tongue out at Hermione. But nevertheless, gave her a smile.

Hermione smiled back while thinking. _This doesn't sound too bad at all. I'll definitely win!_ Or so she thought…

The last two weeks of summer passed by in haste. Before the trio and Ginny knew it, they were already waiting for the scarlet train in platform 9 3/4. Ginny stood hand in hand with Harry. Hermione was having a conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley while Ron was anxiously looking around the platform.

"What's wrong, mate?" Harry asked his best male friend. Ginny suddenly excused herself for a moment to talk to Hermione and the two boys were the only ones left with each other.

"I'm just waiting for someone, Harry." Ron said while still looking around.

"For who?"

"Pansy"

"Pansy? Parkinson?" Harry raised his eyebrow. Why the heck would Ron wait for the Slytherin princess?

"Do you know any other Pansy who would board the train?"

"Well, no." Harry told Ron. "But why are you waiting for her?"

Ron looked at Harry like he was losing his mind. "Is there something wrong with seeing my girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend? Pansy? Are you serious, Ron?" Harry exclaimed, his eyes about to pop out of its sockets.

"Of course, mate. How can I-" Ron was cut off midsentence when Pansy suddenly emerged and hugged him from behind.

Harry only had the ability to gape at the ridiculous couple in front of him, too shocked to mutter anything more than "Holy Pigfarts."

Hermione and Ginny didn't miss the exchange between the two boys. In fact, their eyes might be looking at each other but their ears were focused on the two boys' conversation. So when they both hear what Harry said, they were shocked as well.

"Hmmm. Pansy. Well, I guess I win, Hermione. I didn't really expect that and I don't really like her for that matter. But…" Ginny said. It was hard to tell if she was happy to know that she won or just simply disgusted with Pansy and Ron. "I won. I'll just tell you my condition later." She, then, left and sauntered to Harry. She took a hold of his chin and closed his mouth for him so that no flies could enter.

Hermione, on the other hand, was left with her jaw on the floor. She expected to win. She expected Ron to have Luna as his girlfriend. She was so confident with betting for Luna. Ron and Pansy, really? _Well, who would've thought? The Slytherin Princess and a Gryffindor. The world must have gone to the dogs._

They boarded the train exactly a couple of minutes before 11:00. Ginny and Harry found a compartment while Hermione followed Pansy and Ron.

The three of them went to the Prefect's compartment where they found the other prefects. There were a total of eight of them in their year plus some more from the other years. Ron and Hermione were for Gryffindor, Malfoy and Pansy for Slytherin, Justin Finch-Fletchly and Hannah Abbott for Hufflepuff and Padma Patil and Terry Boot for Ravenclaw. They were the ones in line for the Headgirl and boy positions.

The ride to Hogwarts seemed rather long to Hermione. She spent the whole trip staring at Ron and Pansy from her seat across the couple, still not believing her own eyes. But she wasn't the only one.

Draco "the Ferret" Malfoy was also staring disgustingly at the ridiculous couple. Unfortunately for him, he was sitting directly beside Pansy. He was unluckily treated to the sound of their supposed sweet murmurings in each other's ears. Draco's pleasure regarding the moment was displayed by his disgusted face and crinkled nose. He was inching, bit-by-bit, away from the couple and towards the windows. In no time at all, he was already squished against the window.

At last, after what seemed like centuries, they arrived at the platform. From there, they went to the carriages and travelled towards the castle. Hermione made sure that she was a fair distance away from Ron and Pansy, who seemed to have been permanently glued together. As a result, they had to adopt Pansy and let her board the carriage occupied by the Gryffindors plus Luna. Hermione, Luna and Neville had to sit at one side. Ginny and Harry, being the ones not favored by Lady Luck, were sitting beside Pansy and Ron on the other side. Nobody seemed to be delighted at the situation, except Luna, that is.

Luna was beaming at the couple. She had her eyes trained at them the whole ride and her eyes had a contented gleam in it. Hermione noticed this reaction from Luna and decided to ask her the very question that was bugging her mind.

"You know, Luna. I really thought you were Ron's girlfriend, what with those letters and all." Hermione whispered as low as she could to Luna, who was luckily sitting at her right.

Ginny who was sitting directly in front of her, caned her neck towards them at the sound of Hermione's voice. She, too, looked interested in knowing why she didn't lose. She didn't exactly like the outcome of their bet. Don't get her wrong, she was happy she won. She just didn't like Pansy very much for Ron.

"You did?" Luna chimed with her gentle voice. "Well, I was just trying to help, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think I should really tell you." Luna said as her eyes drifted merrily towards Ron and his clinging octopus once again.

"We'll not tell anybody, Luna." Hermione assured her.

Beside Luna, Neville seemed to be getting interested at the matter too. Even Harry focused his attention to the low conversation they were having. Only Ron and Pansy were the ones oblivious to it.

Luna looked at all of them before she hesitantly answered. "He just asked for my advice and help as to how to tell Pansy about his feelings."

"When did it all start?" Harry mouthed to Luna. He couldn't risk being heard by Ron, who was sitting just beside him.

"I'm afraid I cannot betray the information. I can't tell you about that." Luna's eyes flickered apologetically at each of them. "Why don't you ask Ron? I'm sure he'll tell you."

Hermione and Harry shared nervous looks at the thought of asking Ron why he fell for the Slytherin girl. Everybody knew how Ron acted when it came to love. He was defensive and rather violent in terms of words, so to say.

It was not long after that when they reached the castle and they all filed down the carriages and towards the gates. Each and every one of them was absorbed in their own thoughts.

After arriving at the castle, they all went to the Great Hall and watched the usual routine at the Welcoming Feast.

The new Headmistress, McGonagall, welcomed each and every one of them. She introduced the new teachers, including their new Defense against the Dark Arts Professor and new Head of Gryffindor who was none other than Remus Lupin once again. He was welcomed rather cheerfully by the Gryffindors. And then the announcement for the Headboy and Headgirl came. Hermione listened intently at the announcement, tentatively forgetting her lost bet and who knows what consequence she had to pay.

"Now, for our Headboy and Headgirl…as you all know, due to the unfit curriculum of the school in the past year, we have rendered it useless. But this year, we'll have a new set of Headboy and Headgirl who are chosen because of their outstanding grades, their sense of responsibility and nothing more. The Headboy and Headgirl will be leaving their House dormitories and will stay at the Heads' dormitories, instead." stated McGonagall. By that time, there were several Oooooh's and Aaaaaah's as well as some wolf-whistles. "The Head Girl, I'm proud to announce, is Ms. Hermione Granger."

Cheers and applause erupted from the Gryffindor table. "Well done, Hermione," some said, "Just as expected," some murmured with a smile. But the best reactions were from Hermione's two best friends, Harry and Ron – who, finally, had been separated from Pansy due to school rules.

"'Mione, I'll miss you. But you will still help us study, right?" said Ron. He momentarily forgot about his grumbling stomach and his girlfriend, which was a miracle. Hermione rolled her eyes with a smile.

"We'll miss you in the common room. We'll miss the kill joy." Harry said with a chuckle. Hermione playfully smacked his arm.

Ginny, on the other hand, decided to talk to her.

"Wow, Headgirl, huh? I think I found the best penalty for you, Hermione." Ginny said with a smirk. She was sitting beside Hermione. _This is my chance to take Ron away from that octopus with the help of Hermione, _she thought. Surely, the Headboy would be Ron, right? "I want you to make the Headboy fall in love with you."

"And for the Headboy…" McGonagall continued her announcement.

Both Hermione and Ginny waited for the announcement of the Headboy. But when they heard the name, both of them thought they had heard their own funeral march. For the Headboy was none other than…

"Draco Malfoy…"

AN: There's the first chapter. Please send me reviews. It will totally be appreciated.


	2. Dr Doom Is Coming For Us

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. How many times do I have to say this? You people love to rub it in my face that I don't own it because you know that I want to! I hate you all! Kidding. But I have made it clear, HP is owned by the one and only Jo Rowling.

A/N: It's been a while, huh? I bet you'll agree to that. It has been several months since I last updated. For that, I apologize. I cannot promise that I will update regularly from now on because I still have another fic I intend to finish soon and school is starting in less than a month. But you can count on the fact that I will never abandon this fic. How could I do that, seeing as DraMione is meant to be? Besides, I have already thought about this whole fic. I have already decided what will happen in the plot of this story. I'm not about to go and flush that down the toilet, okay? So… with another sorry for my lame updating skills, I give you the next chapter. I hope you like it! Read and review!

PS: I have edited the first chapter. The plot is still the same, the bet is still on. But I have added more details to it so that the plot will be more solid. I suggest you read it again so that you won't be confused about the changes. And drop a review about the changes while you're at it, okay? Thanks! You rock!

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Cupid's Game Board

A DraMione FanFic

By: Mieux-Mystery-Otaku

Chapter 2: Dr. Doom Is Coming For Us

* * *

Hermione watched as each student filed out of the great hall's majestic oak doors and marched up the staircase at the entrance hall or swerved to the dungeons towards their own house's common rooms.

She smiled to herself. She was Headgirl now. Yes, she still didn't have her badge, but still, she was Headgirl now. Her dream had come true.

Unlike prefect badges, which were supposed to be given to the newly assigned prefects during summer, the Head badges were to be given only after the official announcement during the Welcoming Feast. It was supposed to be a surprise, so to say. The new Heads were supposed to meet the Headmistress first and receive instructions right after the Feast. Only after that would the Headgirl and Headboy be able to receive their badges from the Headmistress herself.

Headboy. Draco Malfoy.

Hermione groaned inwardly as Ginny's words echoed once again through her mind. _"I want you to make the Headboy fall in love with you."_ Honestly, what was she even thinking when she gave her that kind of consequence? Didn't they agreed that the penalty for the loser wouldn't be too hard?

"Ugh! I'm getting you for this, Ginevra Weasley!" Hermione exclaimed to no one in particular as she stood at the entrance hall. She had intended to talk to Ginny immediately after the feast – heck, she even thought of talking to her during the feast. But they couldn't let Ron know about their bet or he'll probably skin them alive, pulverize their bones, and feed their flesh to the thestrals. Oh and probably use their skins as winter coat as well. So she reluctantly waited for the end of the feast.

But it seemed to Hermione that Ginny was intending to evade her anger for after the feast, the redhead had slipped out of the great hall and out of Hermione's sight while the poor Headgirl was being congratulated and hogged by their other housemates.

"Ahem." Someone cleared his throat behind Hermione. When she turned to see who it was, she found Professor Lupin grinning behind her.

"Professor Lupin!" Hermione exclaimed. Then, she felt her cheeks blush when she remembered how she had shouted only moments ago. She bet she looked nothing less than insane when she suddenly screamed in the now empty entrance hall. "H-have you been here long, Professor?"

"The second war had just ended but here you are, declaring Wizarding War III against Molly's daughter." Professor Lupin chuckled and then held out his arms at the girl he had come to treat as his own daughter. "Come here, Hermione."

Hermione smiled, her eyes threatening to fill with tears as she flung herself at the Professor. All bothering thought flew her mind at that moment. Out of all the Professors at Hogwarts, Professor Lupin was the only male Professor that she and Ron (Harry had Dumbledore, see?) had come to treat as their own second father. To say that she was glad to have the Professor back at Hogwarts was an understatement. They were all proud to have him back and they knew he was, too.

"It had been long since I last saw you. I have been busy with my family." Remus said at the young witch. After pulling away, he had rested his hand on her shoulders. "I hope you are well."

"Of course, Professor." Hermione smiled up at him. "How's Teddy?"

Lupin's eyes gleamed with happiness at the mention of his little son. "He's well, of course, growing up fast. He looks like me but that's not an assuring fact seeing as he could look like anybody he wants to. He's got Nymphadora's talent, you see. I think I have mentioned that before, have I? Anyway, at the moment, he looks like me."

"Indeed you have mentioned it before, professor. But we haven't really seen him yet." Hermione said, pertaining to her, Ron and Harry. "We're really looking forward to seeing the little toddler."

"Of course, we can all visit him during the weekend. I'm sure we can fix something with the Headmistress to allow you to leave Hogsmeade for a few hours." Professor Lupin winked, his eyes gleaming with the mischievous light Hermione was sure he had when he was with his Marauder buddies.

Hermione chuckled at his act. "Of course, Professor, of course. If she doesn't approves, we can always sneak out, can't we?"

"We can." The professor agreed. "But I wouldn't want you breaking the rules now, would I? I'm a professor here again, after all and you!" He pointed a finger at her. "You are a Headgirl. Congratulations, by the way, Hermione."

Hermione nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Professor."

"Now, I was supposed to tell you that the Headmistress wanted to talk to you at her office. I have robbed a bit of your time. I hope she doesn't mind." Professor Lupin ceased his hold on her and lightly ruffled her hair, instead. "Off you go, kiddo, congratulations again."

Hermione wondered whether Lupin, Tonks and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley would ever stop treating them like children. Until then, they treated them as if they were still twelve years old and needed looking after despite the fact that they had already fought in a full war. And to be truthful, they had been the ones who were most involved in it and the ones who were most responsible for its end. They were apparently no longer children, that much was obvious. But oh well, they really rather liked it so no harm done.

With another smile to Hermione, the professor turned around and walked towards the dungeons – probably going to let the Headboy know about the headmistress' wish – with his hands in his pockets.

Hermione only had two thoughts as she made her journey to the Headmistress' office: The Headboy and her approaching doom.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was slowly sauntering to the entrance to the Slytherin common room with his hands kept inside his pockets when he suddenly heard his name being called.

"Oi, Draco!"

Draco turned around and found none other than Adrian Pucey strutting towards him. "Git." He muttered under his breath as he waited – not so patiently – for the boy to reach him. "What?" He asked irritably.

"Pro-Professor S-slug-ho-horn wanted to see you in hi-his offi-ffice." Panted Adrian. He was fanning the neck of his shirt as he caught his breath. "Wanted to talk to you, I think. I saw him at—"

"Okay, okay, whatever. I'm going." Draco dismissively waved his hand as he passed the still panting Adrian. "Tell Blaise I'll be there later."

With that, Draco silently wound his way deeper into the dungeons towards the Potion master's office.

After who-knows-how-many-twists-and-turns, Draco finally reached the door to Professor Slughorn's chambers (Where his office is located).

Knock. Knock.

"Professor," Draco called. "You wanted to see me? It's Draco Malfoy, sir."

A faint "Come in, the door's open." Came from the other side of the door. Reaching his hand out, Draco turned the doorknob and pushed the door open with a creak.

"Come in, come in, Mr. Malfoy, and sit down." The overly excited voice of the Potion's professor met Draco's ears as soon as he stepped inside his office.

His office was cozily lighted by the burning flame at the fireplace in the middle of the room. The office was exactly like how Draco remembered it. The walls were of dark stone. The carpet was of deep blue, nearly black. There was a long table at the right part. _That's where he usually held the meeting of his Slyclub or Styclub or Smugclub or whatever it's called. _Draco thought with a snort. In the middle of the room, in front of the fireplace, were a squashy orange couch and two arm chairs on either end. On the left side of the room was a bookshelf occupying the length of the left wall, except for the part where a wooden door was placed. In front of the bookshelf, stood a desk, where the stout professor was seated and grinning at him. Draco took the direction towards the desk.

"Please sit down." Professor Slughorn gestured to the one chair on the other side of the table.

Draco obliged, of course. "What do you want to talk to me about, Professor?" He was straight to the point, wasn't he?

Slughorn chuckled at the Headboy. _No good evening? Kids these days._ He thought as he shifted his position at his chair. "First of all, good evening, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco nodded at the Professor. "Same to you, sir."

The response made the professor shake his head smugly. "Second, Congratulations on being Headboy. I'm proud of you, my boy!" He boomed. He stretched his hand across the table and with difficulty, patted Draco's shoulder.

"Thank you, Professor Slughorn." The Headboy appreciated the gesture, although it looked pathetic to him. "But that's not really why you called me here, is it?"

"Right you are, Draco!" Professor Slughorn gleefully clapped his hands together. He proceeded then to stand up from his seat and walked around his table. He sat down at the top of it, facing Draco. "You know my club, don't you? The slug club."

_Oh so that's what it's really called._ Draco thought to himself. "Yeah, what about it, sir?"

"I was thinking of inviting you into my club. You know, joining the club? You'll be a wonderful addition." The professor said as he positioned his hand in Draco's shoulder. "I just thought you would want to join seeing as…"

Professor Slughorn trailed but Draco knew exactly what he was about to say for in his mind, he saw the same image. In his mind, he saw a sixteen year old boy with a platinum blonde hair with his collar clutched by Filch and being accused of gate-crashing.

"_Okay! Fine! I was gate-crashing!"_ He had admitted then.

Truth be told, he was jealous of the club members back then. He was bitter because he wasn't invited to join. That stupid Longbottom was invited in the parties while he wasn't. He wanted to be part of it. Those were dark times and during those times, he was alone. All he wanted was to know that somehow, there was something out there that he belonged to. He just wanted to be accepted in something because of what he did and not because of who his father was. So he had tried to get in, he had tried his best to be seen by the Potions professor because of his unique skills in Potions but he was overshadowed by Potter as usual and Granger.

Granger. Headgirl. Ugh!

His thoughts unwillingly drifted to Hermione Granger, the new Headgirl. She just wouldn't leave me alone, would she, in terms of academic stuff? Well, how could she, she's supposed to be the smartest out of everyone. _But I swear, I'm gonna kick you out of the throne I own._ But still, Headgirl? Shared responsibilities, shared dormitories, shared common room and shared bathroom… Hmmm…

"Well, uhh." He awkwardly stammered. He shook his head, trying to shake the images starting to form inside his head. "You're planning to bring back the club, Professor?"

"Well, yes. I think the times are safe to bring it back." The professor said. The past year, the slugclub was dead because the Deatheaters had infiltrated the castle. Who knew what they could've done to the members if the club had remained. "Now that it's back, I'd like you to be part of it. So what do you say?"

Draco would've immediately said yes if he had been invited two years ago. But now, he felt less excited about the club. But nevertheless, he didn't want to turn the professor down. He could be called cold and arrogant but never disrespectful of elders, especially his mentors. You could give him that. "Of course, Professor. It's my pleasure. Thank you." He agreed, although it was only half-heartedly.

"That's the spirit, son!" Slughorn clapped Draco's shoulders once more before going back to his seat and plopping back down. "I'll update you on the first party of the term, all right? Now, off you go." He dismissed him as he went back to reading a parchment, which was laid down on his table.

"Thank you, Professor." Draco quietly stood up and walked towards the door. He was about to open the door when the professor exclaimed.

"Oh, I almost forgot! The Headmistress wanted to see you in her office immediately. Password is Percival." The professor didn't even look up from his parchment.

Draco's eyes widened. Since when did he know that the Headmistress wanted to see him? He'd been at this office for almost half an hour now. "Errm, professor? Since when did the Headmistress want me in her office?"

"Hmmm." The Potion master thoughtfully placed his finger under his chin in deep thought. "Probably half an hour ago. Professor Lupin relayed the message to me." He smiled at Draco widely before waving his hand in a dismissing manner and bringing his attention back down at the parchment in his table.

Draco's jaw dropped as his eyes seemed to pop out of its sockets. He had been wanted at the Headmistress' office for half an hour now. It was first day of being a Headboy and he was tardy for his first meeting with Professor McGonagall.

Draco gulped loudly as his eyes fell down to the chest of his robes where his badge would be pinned after it was given to him.

_Now I don't know if that badge would even be given to me!_ Draco thought. And with that, he pulled the door open and sprinted towards the Headmistress' office, dreading for his ungiven badge.

* * *

"Pe-pe-perciii-vahl!" panted the blonde-haired Headboy as he bent to his knees and tried to catch his breath. He had just run from the deepest part of the dungeons up to the Headmistress' office non-stop. He was afraid his lungs would bleed any moment. His heart was about to pop out of his chest due to its extreme drumming.

"What are you on about?" The gargoyle guarding the Headmistress' office asked him with an irritated expression. "Are you trying to mess with me or something?"

Clearly, the gargoyle was in a foul mood. _Probably got ditched on his date with the one-eyed witch with a hump._ Draco thought smugly. He took a deep breath before he talked again. "I said the password is Percival. Let me in!"

"You don't need to shout, you know! I can hear you fine!" The gargoyle grumbled to him before stepping aside and letting him through the gap in the wall, where a spiral staircase was slowly ascending.

_Or maybe he wasn't ditched. He's being grumbly because of old age. Who knows how old that statue is? _Draco thought again. He might have to suggest to the Headmistress to get a new guard. _Oh hey, Professor. Your guard gargoyle had just gone through menopause. I think you need a new one. _Yeah, that'd be cheerful. He snorted.

Finally, the staircase stopped ascending and in front of him, Draco saw the oak doors of Professor McGonagall's office. He lifted his knuckle and tapped the brass knocker three times.

"Come in!" said a voice from inside the room. _That's odd._ It didn't sound anywhere near the new Headmistress.

The Headboy slowly pushed open the heavy wooden door. Without looking up, he stepped inside the room. When he did look up, what he found wasn't the new Headmistress at all but, unfortunately for him, the new Headgirl, Hermione Granger.

"Hey, Mudblood." He croaked. His throat was dry due to all the heavy breathing he just did a minute ago. He cleared his throat and went to the table where another seat was waiting for him to sit on. His position was in front of the Mudblood.

"Hey, Ferret!" countered Hermione. _When will he stop calling me that?_ She thought angrily. "I see you can't even comprehend time seeing as you're half an hour late."

"It's not like it's my fault, you know?" Draco argued from his seat across Hermione. He crossed his arms over his chest and crossed his leg over his other knee. "Besides, stop calling me ferret. I am not a ferret. How can you even mistake a handsome face like this," He gestured to his face. "To a ferret?"

Hermione huffed. "As if! If I didn't know better, I'd say you'd borrowed that face from one of Myrtle's toilet seats! Same shape, after all."

"You've gone blind, Mudblood! The only stuff inside this room that I can associate with the U-bend is your breath."

Hermione absent-mindedly brought her palm towards her mouth and breathed in it, sniffing her breath after. It smelled like cherries, what she had last eaten during the feast! "My breath definitely doesn't smell like the sewer!" Yes, she hadn't brushed her teeth yet but it definitely doesn't smell like toilet.

Draco gave a hearty laugh. "Made you check, Mudblood!"

"Would you stop calling me that, ferret?"

Draco's smile vanished and in its place, a frown settled. "Don't call me ferret! I'm not a ferret."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. "I'll only stop calling you ferret if you stop calling me Mudblood."

"Why would I stop calling you Mudblood?" Draco chuckled. "I am no longer a ferret, as you can see. I have been one, yes, because of Mad-eye but I am not a ferret now. Therefore, I shouldn't be called one anymore. You on the other hand," Draco sneered at her. "Are still a Mudblood. That wouldn't change, Granger. So live with it."

"Why, you!" Hermione angrily glared at him, her face crunching in fury. "I hate you!"

"It's my pleasure." Draco gave her a sweet smile.

_If only I could get a hold of that face, I swear you're gonna borrow a face not from a toilet but from a gnome! _Hermione thought to herself.

Just then, someone cleared their throat from the top of the staircase leading to the Headmistress' chambers.

The two looked up in time to see Professor McGonagall looking down on them.

"I just left to get your badges and when I came back, I found you arguing like a cat and a rat." The professor said as she descended the stairs and sat down behind her table.

"I get to be the cat and she's the rat, right Professor?" Draco joked.

In reply, Professor McGonagall peered at him above her rectangular spectacles.

From the corner of Draco's eye, he saw Hermione giving him a warning look, well, a death glare to be exact. That was when he decided to shut his mouth.

"We're sorry, professor." Hermione apologized. Although, her face wasn't anywhere near apologetic when she glanced at Draco and gave him a you-better-apologize-or-I'll-kill-you look.

"I'm sorry, Headmistress. Sorry for the inappropriate behavior." Draco gave him an apologetic face. "Sorry for being tardy as well, Professor. Errrm. Professor Slughorn told me about the meeting only after half an hour of talking about other things."

The Professor raise an eyebrow at both of them but Hermione could swear she saw the corner of the professor's lips threatening to turn up. "It's okay. Now, before I give you your badges, I have to give you some instructions. First of all, I know that the two of you have your own issues and rivalries. I was treated to a demo of that only a while ago."

The two Head of the student body looked down at their feet simultaneously.

The Professor decided to continue. "But I do hope that when it comes to your responsibilities, you would selflessly push aside your enmities. But of course, it would be better if you could be friends. That would help us all."

At the sound of Draco and Hermione being friends, the two of them looked up from their feet and looked at each other. After a few moments of staring – glaring – at one another, Draco spoke.

"We can't promise that, professor." He said apologetically. Actually, how could he and Granger be friends? He didn't even know if they could survive one night together without slicing each other's heads off. The professor should've known turning from arch enemies to friends would be a lost cause.

"I'm sure you can be friends, if you just try to respect each other's differences." The professor reasoned. "I'm looking forward to the day the two of you will do something together as friends."

_Yeah, good luck with that._ Draco thought.

"But for now, I give you your badges." From a black velvet pouch, the Headmistress retrieved two gleaming gold badges with the big letter H in the middle of the Hogwarts' crest. She handed one to each of them.

Draco took the badge with one hand and pinned it in the left chest of his robes.

"_But this year, we'll have a new set of Headboy and Headgirl who are chosen because of their outstanding grades, their sense of responsibility and nothing more."_

The former words of the new Headmistress echoed through Draco's mind. Finally, he had done something; he had achieved something with his own skills, his own perseverance and his own name; nothing more, nothing less. Just him, his own dream, achieved with his own efforts. He ran his fingers over the gleaming badge, contentment showing in his smile and shining in his eyes.

Hermione sighed in gratification as she pinned her badge in her robes. Finally, she had achieved it: her dream of becoming Headgirl. It wasn't just a title for her. For a muggle-born like her who thirsted for change and justice in the unfair wizarding system, this was a great start. Finally, she had the chance to make a change. As small as the change she could make in this school was, at least, she was already starting it. With a smile, she promised herself, her reign as Headgirl will end in this school with all the students having fair attention and not biased judgment.

"Congratulations to both of you, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger." The compliments of the Headmistress had brought the two newly badged Head of the student body out of their reverie. Simultaneously, they brought their eyes back to the professor.

"Thank you, professor." Draco gratefully said.

"This means a lot, professor. Thank you so much." Hermione thanked.

"I knew I chose the right leaders for the job." The Headmistress looked at both of them with a smile on her lips and a new hope visible in her eyes. "Now, for further instructions…"

Both Draco and Hermione fixed their positions in their chairs and focused their rapt attention to the Headmistress.

"I won't be mentioning our plans for the new school year for now because I know both of you are tired and would like to retreat for the night. I will brief you on that for the next days. I will only state the new rules and regulations you have to follow and implement as Headboy and Headgirl this time."

The Headmistress held out a finger. "One, you will lead all the academic and co-curricular activities we will be engaging in for the next months. We have a whole new line-up of projects for this school year. As you know, the war had just ended and we should take this opportunity not only to regain the trust of the society in this school but also to renew and improve the school system. I am hoping that you two will be the ones in front of the line on all these events we are to have."

"Of course, professor." Hermione answered.

"Count us in, ma'am." Came Draco's response.

The Headmistress smiled at them and held out another finger. "Two, You are no longer expected to inspect the castle every night. The prefects, as you know, will be in charge of that. But you are expected to know what the prefects would find out. They are to report to you and you will be the one to give certain punishments to rule-breakers. A student's curfew is ten o' clock. A prefect's curfew is at midnight. All things must be put in order by then. You, as Headboy and girl, have no curfew. But I expect you are responsible enough to know by yourselves the proper time you should be retiring to your dormitory."

They both nodded in reply.

"Third," The Headmistress held out another finger. "When you were prefects, you are able to deduct and award points to deserving students. Now, you are able to give detentions and if you give them, of course you will be the ones to conduct them. The kind and degree of detention that a rule-breaker will receive depends on you. I hope you will not be biased and unfair in deciding those matters."

The Headmistress gave them both an examining look. Although her look at Draco was a bit longer than what she gave to Hermione. Then, she held out a fourth finger. "Last but not the least; you two will be staying in one dormitory. Your dormitory will be on the seventh floor of the east wing. I'm sure you both know the directions leading there. When you get there, you will find your trunks already waiting for you in your separate rooms. Like your dormitories in your own houses, the staircase for the Headgirl's room is enchanted. You will have to share common rooms, which will also serve as your study rooms complete with the books you will need, that are mounted on bookshelves. You will also have to share bathrooms. You will have to come up with a compromise or schedule of using the bathroom. Now, I must make this clear…"

Professor McGonagall paused for a moment and trained her gaze from Draco to Hermione once again as if she was giving them an x-ray examination. "I know for a fact that you both know that besides the dormitory rules on each house, the enchanted staircases on each dormitory and the curfew of each student, there is no other rule separating the female students from the male students. When you're there on your dormitory, you will be far from the attention of the whole school. You will have the dormitory all to yourselves. What you do in there will be invisible to the eyes, unheard to the ears and unknown to the minds of the whole school. I trust you won't do anything errr…against moral values. And keep in mind you are both still too young to be doing…certain…deeds…and think carefully about your futures before you do something you might regret someday…"

Hermione's eyes widened in realization when she figured out what the headmistress implied with her words. "Not to be rude professor, but are you implying what I think you're implying?"

Draco looked from the Headmistress to Hermione and back to the Headmistress with confusion veiling his eyes. Up until then, he still hadn't figured out what the Headmistress was entailing.

"I am merely cautioning the both of you, Ms. Granger. After all, you are a teenage girl and Mr. Malfoy is a teenage boy. I am merely warning you, especially you, Mr. Malfoy. I don't wish to sound impolite but through my years here at this school, I have learned that hormones of the male students are more difficult to control than the female—"

Draco choked in his own spit once he realized what the Headmistress said. His eyes widened in horror and probably in disgust as well. "Whoa! Not to be disrespectful, Professor, but there is no way that would happen. I can assure I wouldn't even think of her that way let alone touch her that way. I don't get why I'd even look at her like that." He defensively exclaimed.

"Hey!" Hermione indignantly exclaimed at him. "I'm still a girl, you know."

Draco's face suddenly clouded with extreme confusion as if it was the first time he'd ever pondered on the topic when he turned his head at her and spoke. "Are you - are you sure?"

Hermione shot another death glare in Draco's direction. With her looks, she tried to show him what kind of gruesome ways she was currently planning to kill him with.

Draco noticed the deadly intent of Hermione looks but he was not disturbed. He merely raised his eyebrows insultingly at her.

"Back to what we were discussing… I know you wouldn't engage in that kind of intimacy," At this, both Hermione and Draco cringed. "But I had to bring it up. I brought it up to every batch of Headgirl and boy for the past years since long ago, even to the batch of James and Lily Potter – Evans at the time."

"But they're different, professor. They had a relationship back then." Hermione pointed out.

"We started long before then and the late Headmaster Dumbledore and I made sure that we reminded every batch from then on. Your batch is no different." The Headmistress interjected.

"We understand, professor." Draco said, giving Hermione a don't-intervene-anymore-we-have-to-end-this-discussion look.

Hermione understood Malfoy's message. They had to, at least, stop talking about it. Never in her life would she even dream of touching even the pale gelled hair of that git, Malfoy, let alone his body. She shuddered at the thought. It irked her to no end. "You don't have to worry about it, professor."

"Very well. Now I think I have said all that is needed. You may now retire to your dormitory, if you want, or catch up with your friends on your former common rooms. Good night. Thank you for your time and good luck." With that, the Headmistress smiled at both of them.

"Thank you as well, professor." Hermione said.

Draco nodded at the Headmistress and gave her a small smile. "Good night, Headmistress, thank you."

Hermione stood up from her seat and went out the door. Draco followed her not long after, closing the door behind him. The two of them remained silent as the staircase descended. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts. Each thought they were in their own world and about to face their own problems, that both thought was worse than the other's.

Without even looking at the each other, Hermione and Draco walked towards different directions: Hermione – towards the Gryffindor common room to confront Ginny and Draco – towards the dungeons. Both had the horrifying feeling in the pit of their stomachs and both were suspecting that Dr. Doom was already knocking at their doors…

* * *

A/N: There ya go. It's not much but I promise to upload the next chapter tomorrow or the next day. Thank you for reading and please send me a review about your thoughts or perhaps some ideas you would like to share to me. Review, okay?

By the way, thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter!

Anonymous, the-Pure-Hearted-Romanticist, Abbylover18, Loslote, It's Just Apple Pie. And Natasha. Thanks a lot, guys!

PS: Before I post the next chapter, I'll be changing my pen name from Mieux-Mystery-Otaku to Mystical Pen and I'll be changing the title of this story from Cupid's Game Board to Cupid's Arrow. I just thought I have to let you know. Okay, bye now! Review!


	3. If They Only Knew

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is disclaimed! I do not own it!

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed the 2nd chapter, namely, Belle, UltimateLoveStorys, NoToJade:D, coolgems1630, GoldieFlow and AnnieMoose.

Thanks also to those who added this fic to their alerts and faves list and also to those who added me to their faves. Thank you so much!

Now, I know I said I'd change the title of this fic to Cupid's Arrow but a reviewer said that the current title, Cupid's Game Board, suits the story more so… I won't change it anymore. And aside from that… since I decided not to change it, I tried to think of something I could do to the story so that the title would be more applicable and so I came up with one idea. Why not make the title literal? So here ya go! I'd like to thank coolgems1630 for that review. See, your opinions do matter, guys! So keep your feedbacks coming! You know, it helps me update more often! Okay, read and review!

Cupid's Game Board

A DraMione FanFic

By: Mystical Pen

Chapter 3: If They Only Knew

In a place where time wasn't as important as it was on Earth, where peace reigned supreme, where discipline was thick in the air and where humans could never learn of and enter, a being stood looking down upon a stone basin. In the stone basin, images of a room with two humans – a male blonde and a female brunette – were floating. To the being surveying the scene, sounds of the humans' bickering could be heard. It was clear to the being that the two humans were engaged in a heated squabbling. This made the being irritated. The irritated being was an entity, the entity of Fate.

Destinn, the entity of Fate, was the one assigned to look after the humans. He was the only one that the Great Entity had trusted to be given the information and purposes of each human being. Each human was supposed to have one major purpose that they should fulfill in their lives. This was to make sure that everything would be in order and according to the Great Plan of existence.

Once a purpose of a human was passed on to Destinn, he would be the one and the only entity to be held responsible of the ways and methods that were needed to be conducted just so the human could fulfill his life's purpose. Destinn would have to devise a plan to make the human fulfill his purpose. Once he had devised a plan, he would pass it on to the other entities that had the power to make his plan a possibility. That was when things usually go wrong, especially when the plan involved a certain rogue entity of Love named Valentino.

"Hey, buddy!"

Destinn felt a hand clap his back. He slowly turned around to see who it was that interrupted him. As soon as he saw the face of the dolt, his scowl deepened.

_Speaking of the devil._ Destinn thought to himself. It was an expression that he had learned from the humans. He rarely used it; in fact, he never used it to anybody else except for Valentino. At the moment, Destinn thought it suited him the best.

"Don't buddy me, Val." Destinn growled at the entity of love.

"What's wrong with you?" Val asked the black-haired, pale complexioned and scowling entity of Fate. Despite the sour mood of Destinn, Val's cheerful smile still highly pulled the corners of his mouth. His brown eyes, which were partially hidden under his dirty blond hair, glimmered in joy.

"Nothing of your business." Came the curt answer of Destinn. He waved his hand over the surface of the stone basin in front of him and the image from it, glimmered in front of him – at eye level. He stood there, watching the scene like a muggle television screen. The sounds echoed clearly like it was from huge muggle stereos.

"Oh come now, don't be harsh." Val encouraged with a tap on Destinn's shoulder, which the latter tried to shrug away from. "What are you watching anyway?"

Destinn never gave any answers. Instead, he continued watching the image unfolding in front of his eyes.

Val was about to ask one more time when his head snapped towards the scene that Destinn was watching. The blonde guy from the scene had just said the words "You, on the other hand, are still a Mudblood. That wouldn't change, Granger. So live with it."

"Wait, did he just say Granger?" Val asked Destinn. "Is that Granger, as in Hermione Granger?"

"Yes!" Destinn answered through gritted teeth. He turned his attention to Val and gave him a death glare. "She's Hermione Granger, the girl that Ron Weasley was supposed to be in love with and not Pansy Parkinson." He accused Val.

Valentino cleared his throat uncomfortably and decided to ignore Destinn's anger. He had been angry with him ever since he had made Ron fall for Pansy. Ever since then, Destinn never stopped reminding him of the damage he did to the plan that he made. "Wh-why are you watching them?"

Destinn narrowed his eyes at Val. He knew that Val had intentionally tried to change the subject. It only angered him more. "Because she took my oath, the oath of Fate."

"So what?" Val asked. "Humans always swear the oath of Fate. It hasn't been a big deal for you."

"But now, it is." Destinn interjected.

"Why?"

"Because Granger and the female Weasley used it for a bet. Granger lost and Weasley told her that as a consequence, she should make the Head boy fall in love with her. The Head boy happened to be the young Malfoy." Destinn explained, his eyes flaring angrily.

While Destinn sulked and almost disintegrated with anger, Val turned gleeful after what he had heard. "Oooh! I like that. I wanna help!"

Suddenly, Destinn growled at Val. "No!" He exclaimed. "You're not gonna be involved in this again! Don't go on earth. Don't you dare go anywhere near them, or even influence them!"

"What?" Val's face was crunched up in a combination of a pout and total bewilderment mixed with confusion. "Why not?"

"I'm not gonna let you screw this one, too." Destinn explained loudly. "You destroyed Ron when you made him fall in love with Pansy. You screwed up my plan. He was supposed to fall for Hermione and she was supposed to love him back. They were planned to have a kid together and their daughter will someday fall for Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. But now, you've made Ron fall for Pansy. Everything's screwed up. And I'm not about to let you do it again! Leave Hermione and Draco alone!"

Val was taken aback by Destinn's explosion. He held his arms in surrender. He waited for Destinn to calm down before he spoke again. "If I may be allowed to ask, you do know that what we do with humans is merely guide them towards the right path of equality and balance on earth, right? We influence them, and the things and circumstances around them. You know that, right? The decisions they make are still based on their own accord. Now, how sure are you that Draco and Hermione wouldn't end up loving each other on their own if I didn't help?

Despite being irritated, Destinn gave a triumphant smirk. "I've already figured that out. I've got a plan. Yes, you're right. We only influence the things around them so that they could be led to the plan we've got for them. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to influence the things around them so that they won't fall for one another."

Right then, it was Valentino's turn to be outraged. His face crumpled in anger, or it may even have been in disgust. "That's unfair!"

"That is most certainly not unfair." Destinn defended himself. "It needed to be done. If she couldn't make him fall in love with her, she'd lose and she'd have to suffer my 'wrath', as they called it. I'll use that opportunity to drive her back to Ron and get everything right again."

Val shook his head disappointedly at Destinn. "Bro, you're bound to fail. You're just gonna make things much worse with what you're planning."

"What? No, I'm not!" Destinn said indignantly. "Besides, she kept calling me Lady Fate, I'm not a woman! She's bound to be punished and I'll use that punishment as a chance to make things right again."

"I told you." Said Val softly as if he was talking to a toddler who wouldn't understand something so simple. "You're going to fail with what you're planning now. Yes, you might be able to drive Hermione towards Ron but to be able to make Ron go back to Hermione, I don't know about that, mate."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean?"

"What I mean is," Val took a deep breath. "I've already made Ron fall for Pansy. Pansy is Ron's true love now, whether you believe that or not. If you break them up, it would be devastating for both of them. It would be impossible for you to make Ron forget about Pansy that easily. It'd take something more than pushing Ron back to Hermione by setting them up and using the circumstances to set things right. You'd have to make Ron fall for Hermione once he's broken up with Pansy for that to work and you can't do that without my help. I'm telling you now, Destinn, I'm not going to help you because this whole thing is unfair."

Destinn's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why are you doing this, Val? Why did you thwart my plan? You know very well that we couldn't fail in our job. The balance of humanity is in our hands. Why did you abolish my plan for Hermione and Ron? Why do you keep rescinding my plan?"

Val frustratingly combed his hair with his hands. "I did not abolish your plan, mate. I wasn't pulling you down to failure. This time, believe it or not, I helped you strengthen the possibility of attaining what The Great Entity wanted you to." He waited for Destinn to say anything but when nothing came, he continued his explanation.

"Ron and Hermione aren't perfect for each other. They're not compatible. Trust me, out of all of us, I'm the one who knows the most about that. Ron and Hermione always bicker. Even if we manage to influence them to fall in love with each other now, someday, their relationship is bound to crumble down. I'm sure of it. Whatever they would have together, it wouldn't be meant to last forever." He paused to take a deep breath. "Now, Hermione and Ron's purpose is to assist Harry in fulfilling his. They've done that wonderfully. The only thing left is for Ron to have daughter that will fall for Draco's son. By having that done, Scorpius will be a part of the Weasley family. To be truthful, I don't know why you haven't considered Harry and Ginny's daughter – Lily – to be the one for Scorpius. That would have been the easiest solution to the 'problem' you said I created. If you considered that, there would be no need to force Hermione to Ron. But if you don't want that and you want something more direct to the Weasley family and not the Potter as well, I have another plan, a plan that's not really easy but I assure you, it's right. It's the best bet we could have."

Silence reigned over the two entities as soon as Val finished talking. Both of them looked at the other's eyes. The sound coming from the scene that was still playing in front of the two seemed non-existent for both. Val had a determined look etched in his face while Destinn seemed to be pondering what Val had just said.

"What's your solution?" Destinn finally asked indifferently.

A small smile stretched Val's lips as he answered. "Now, you're ready to listen." He released a whiff of breath as he rubbed his palms together, his eyes glinting excitedly. "Okay, what we have to accomplish is that a son of Draco Malfoy – the last in the Malfoy line – should be a part of the Weasley family, right? We don't have to drive Hermione and Draco away from each to other to accomplish this. If Hermione and Draco fall in love and marry someday, they will be Scorpius' parents. Then, Scorpius will be destined to fall for Rose, the future daughter of Pansy and Ron. It's as easy as that, mate."

Destinn seemed unconvinced with the plan that Val had suggested. It seemed too simple and easy to work. He had doubts that it would work and his doubts showed clearly in his face.

Destinn's doubts weren't invisible to Val. He saw it in his buddy's eyes that he was uncertain if he should take the risk. They all knew that if something went wrong, Destinn would be the one who'd be damned responsible for it. He would be the one to pay for the consequences. Val understood the uncertainty that Destinn was feeling. He had challenged Destinn's plan once and it caused him distress and problem. Destinn had a right to have second thoughts in trusting Val and Val completely understood it.

"I know you're afraid of trusting me again. So I have a proposition for you to help you decide." Val said.

"What is it?" Destinn asked curiously.

"We play a game just like how we used to." Val said with a shrug of his shoulder. "If I win, these two will fall in love with each other and we'll do my plan. You'll leave them alone. If you win, I'll help you set things right again in your plan and your way. I'll leave them alone and help you fix what I've screwed up before involving Ron."

Destinn seemed to think deeply of the offer. He fell silent for a long while as he thought of his decision. Val patiently waited for him. After a while, he talked.

"Let me make this clear." Destinn started. "You and I will play a game again just like how we used to?"

"Yep."

"Okay. One," Destinn held out a finger. "You do know that once we play, whatever happens in the game board will have a huge effect on the lives of Hermione and Draco?" Val nodded. Destinn held out another finger. "Two, when we start playing, our powers will be completely involved in the game. We will have no control over what effects the game will have on earth." Another nod from Val. Destinn held out a third finger. "Third, when we play, the powers of the other entities who will side with whoever they choose between the two of us will also be involved in the game. It will have its effects on earth as well."

"Yes, you got it. We've been playing the same game ever since. It's my board too as well. I already know the rules." Came Val's answer.

"With all of that in consideration," Destinn started. "Why do you think I should agree to this?" He challenged.

Val smirked smugly at Destinn. "Because whoever wins, you get your problem solved." He answered. "If I win, my plan will solve your problem. If you win, you get your way and you get my help. Whatever happens, you will cease to have a problem. It's a sure win for you."

Silence pressed on the two entities once more. Val waited patiently for Destinn's answer but he didn't have to wait too long to hear his answer.

With a curt nod, Destinn told Val his decision. "Get your game board, Lord Cupid. We play chess."

Hermione stormed through the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room, her eyes frantically searching for a particular owner of a mane of red hair.

"Harry, where's Ginny?" Hermione asked Harry – who was sitting on his favorite arm chair in front of the fire while reading a book – as soon as her feet stepped in the scarlet carpet of the Gryffindor common room, which was, for some unknown reason, empty besides Harry. "Wait, where is everybody?"

Harry nonchalantly answered. "Ginny's up there." He pointed at the girls' dormitories without looking up from what he was reading. "And about the other Gryffindors, only a few have gone up here after the feast. They must be somewhere out in the grounds or something."

"In the grounds?" Hermione asked, her eyebrow cocking up.

"Uh-huh."

"But they should be here now, it's late!" Hermione exclaimed, her inner rule-loving self, kicking in and momentarily forgetting her motive in coming to the common room.

Harry placed a finger on the page he was reading and closed his book. He placed it in his lap and then turned his full attention on his best friend. "It's only eight, Hermione." He pointed out.

"Your curfew is nine." Hermione informed him. Her hands were now resting on her hips in an intimidating way.

"Your point is?" Harry raised an eyebrow at her for a moment before opening his book once again and immersing himself fully in his leisure.

Hermione scoffed. Harry had just ignored her for a book. A bloody book! That had never happened before, except that time when he found Snape's Potions book in their sixth year. But that didn't turn out to be a good book now, had it? You get the point. "Harry." She called out to him.

"Hmmmm?"

"Harry." She tried again.

"Errrr." Harry distractedly mumbled.

Hermione gave an irritated groan. "I'm not exactly talking to the back of your head now, am I, Harry?"

At this, Harry whipped his head towards Hermione. "What?"

Hermione sighed in defeat. "Nothing. Never mind. What are you reading, anyway?" She asked from her standing position at the back of the squashy couch.

"It's a book I borrowed from Dean." Harry answered, raising the book in his hand. "He said he bought it from Flourish and Blotts. It's a compilation of pick-up lines."

At that, Hermione's eyebrows automatically turned up. "Harry James Potter, the Boy Who Lived, The Chosen One, reading a book composed of pick-up lines." Hermione found herself laughing loudly.

Harry blushed at Hermione's comment. "It's rather interesting, Hermione." He defended himself. "There's one line about Luna, would you believe it? Luna Lovegood. Here, listen." Harry started flipping through several pages until he found the one he was looking for. "Here. 'I may not be Luna. But I sure know how to Lovegood.'" Harry recited with a grin.

Hermione's lips started to stretch in an amused smile. "That is pretty good. Although, you really can't use that on Ginny, can you?"

"I wasn't really planning on using them! It's just great entertainment." Harry told her. Then, his eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement once again. "Although, there is a certain line that I don't get." Harry stood up from the chair and walked towards Hermione as he flipped to the page he was reading a while ago. He pushed the book in front of Hermione and pointed at a certain line.

Hermione read what Harry was pointing to and her eyes widened.

"I don't get it, Hermione." Harry retrieved the book and re-read the line. "I don't get why the word Slytherin, which is a noun, would be put after another noun – basilisk. I just don't get it. Besides, what could be so amazing with Slytherin, basilisk and chamber of secrets that could help you get a date?"

"A word of advice, Harry." Hermione stated.

"Yeah?" Harry looked up at her.

"Don't spend too much time with Ron. He's rubbing off on you." With that, she smiled at her baffled best friend and went up the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories without another glance.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Harry exclaimed at Hermione but she was long gone to hear him. So he decided to go back to his former spot on the arm chair and continued his reading. In his mind, he still tried to figure out what the line 'Can my basilisk Slytherin your Chamber of Secrets?' even meant.

Ginny Weasley sat on the edge of her four-poster bed, pondering about the consequence she had just given Hermione Granger. She was sure that any minute now, Hermione would burst in her dormitory doors and probably tear her to bits. It was a good thing that nobody was in her dormitory with her at that moment. She didn't know where her other dorm mates were but she was thankful, nonetheless. She even stayed away from Harry because it would be bad if he heard what she and Hermione would be talking about later.

Ginny Weasley's prediction proved to be true because not long after, Hermione Granger came bursting in through her dorm without even knocking.

"Ginny!"

Hermione's loud voice rang through Ginny's eardrum sounding like a death march. She had predicted that Hermione would yell at her, of course, but still, the real thing was frightening.

Ginny looked up at Hermione, a grimace already present on her lips. "Yes, Hermione?" Ginny expected her best friends to verbally murder her at that moment. But to her astonishment, Hermione exasperatedly sighed and then flopped down to the floor like a devastated heap, her legs tucked under her and her face buried in her shaking hands.

"I'm doomed, Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed from her spot on the floor, her back was leaning against the closed door. "I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed!"

Ginny sighed and stood up from her bed. She went towards Hermione and sat beside her on the floor. If anyone would want to enter the dorm, they wouldn't be able to because the weight of the two witches was keeping the door shut. "Don't be pessimistic." Ginny reprimanded.

"Don't be pessimistic?" Hermione repeated Ginny's statement, her voice higher than necessary. The words were dripping with annoyance. Finally, she had retrieved her face from her hands. "Ginny—" Before she could even say anything else, she was distracted by the eerie silence. The room was silent. It was, in fact, empty. She stood up from the ground and stomped her feet in frustration – something she didn't normally do. It only proved that she was beyond happy at that time.

"Where is everybody? Why is there no one in here? This room should be full by now, considering it's almost curfew. Ugh!" She stomped angrily towards Ginny's bed and flopped down on the bed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "The prefects better be rounding up those other students or they'll be in humongous trouble. It's only the first night back at the castle and I'm already very frustrated!"

"Wow, you swerve through topics pretty fast, huh? Relax." Ginny said. She stood up from the floor, fixed her white cotton pajamas as she went. She sat down at Hermione's left. "Besides, you should be thankful that no one's here. Or else, you'd be in deep embarrassment, what with all those childish stomping you just did." Ginny smiled at Hermione.

Hermione gave her a piercing glare. "How could you smile like that? This is the start of my slow and painful death, you know. This is all because of that freakin' oath." She told Ginny. Deep inside, she knew her anger wasn't really directed at Ginny, for she knew that Ginny had no way of knowing that the Head boy would be the ferret. But she was irritated, nonetheless. She was annoyed with the circumstances and fate itself.

In her mind, she thought hard why this was happening to her. To the others, it might seem like she's whining about something simple and shallow. But to her, it wasn't. To her, the consequence was a mission impossible. _How will I make him fall in love with me if he couldn't even stop treating me like a dimwit, stupid being? _Unconsciously, Hermione's eyes fell down to her finger, where a ring of dark brown color could be seen. It seemed even darker than before, only symbolizing that now, it was more impossible for her to get out of that mess unscathed. _I knew this was a bad idea._

Ginny groaned loudly. "Guilt, guilt and guilt. It's slowly devouring me, Hermione. This is my fault. I'm terribly sorry."

There was an awkward silence around them as Hermione continued staring at her finger. Ginny suddenly became nervous. Maybe Hermione was really angry with her.

"Wait, are you really angry?" She asked Hermione, panic lining her face. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, Hermione. I'm sorry!"

Still no answer.

"Hermione!" She called her louder. "Hey!" She gently poked her shoulder.

"Wha-? Huh?" Suddenly, Hermione was jerked from her reverie and her eyes snapped back to Ginny, who was looking at her guiltily, her eyes no longer glowing but looking concerned.

"I'm really, really sorry, Hermione."

Hermione sighed deeply. "It's not your fault, really. I'm not blaming you. You have no way of knowing it'd be Malfoy. Besides, I agreed to this, so I'm at fault as well."

"But I was the one who forced you into it." Ginny fidgeted uncomfortably. "It's my fault."

Hermione clicked her tongue and fixed her face. She tried to look more cheerful. But really, she looked like Neville before a graded recitation on Potions. "Let's just find a way to do this, okay? Because frankly, I have no idea how I could pull this off." She looked back at the brown band in her index finger. She showed it to Ginny. "Look it's darker than normal. It only means that we're veering farther away from the possibility of this being a success. Look at yours."

Ginny obliged and like what Hermione had pointed out, her band was darker as well. "You're right. We have to find a way to do this or we're both doomed."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Hermione leaned back and let her body fall on the soft mattress of Ginny's bed. "What do we do now?" She asked Ginny with a raised eyebrow. "How would I ever make Malfoy fall in love with me?"

The redhead thought for a moment. "Hmmm." She thoughtfully put her finger under her chin. "The easiest way would have to be to use a bit of your charming powers."

"Wait, what charms are you talking about?" Hermione interrupted Ginny. "The only charms that I know I have are the ones being taught at Flitwick's class."

Ginny laughed loudly. "You're joking, right?"

While half-sprawled on the bed, Hermione craned her head towards Ginny. "I'm perfectly serious."

The deep red eyebrows of the youngest Weasley suddenly crumpled in the middle of her forehead. "Hermione, I'd bet anything that this year, you'll be the most sought-after lady here in the whole school."

Hermione ceased lying on the bed and instead, sat up, her back against the headboard. "What are you on about?"

"After doing all that during the war, the three of you are the coolest witch and wizards in the whole wizarding society. You are the considered to be the most adequate witch in the entire wizarding world. Harry is the most eligible bachelor and even Ron is considered to be the coolest sidekick." Ginny explained.

"Where did that even come from, Ginny?"

"I read it in the latest issue of Witch Weekly." Ginny answered with a wide grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You can't honestly use a gossip magazine or something as a basis, you know?"

"That is right, normally. But that is actually what the society thinks. Besides, even if you put that aside, you still have the looks, Hermione." Ginny triumphantly smirked at her.

"Yeah, yeah." Hermione mumbled. _Riiiiiiight. Is that why up until now, she still hadn't had a single boyfriend? _(Viktor's not counted).

"Hermione, seriously, when was the last time you intently examined your reflection in the mirror?"

"Just this morning of course!" Hermione thought the question was rather harsh. Of course she looked at herself in the mirror that morning before she had gone out of her and Ginny's room at the Burrow. She wouldn't actually go out without checking her appearance.

"No!" Ginny argued. "I didn't mean check-if-you-have-dirt-on-your-face-or-if-your-hair-had-a-nest-in-it look in the mirror. I mean really look in the mirror. Like appreciate the glowing colour of your eyes, the smooth shape of your eyebrows, the fullness of your pink lips, the natural rosy blush of your cheeks and the light sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of your nose. That kind of look in the mirror."

Hermione was taken aback. When, indeed, was the last time she did that? "Hmmm. I don't even remember. Before the Yule ball, maybe." _What? I had more important things to do and worry about after that._ She defended herself in her mind.

"How old are you back then? Fourteen, right? You're bloody eighteen now, Hermione. You're nearly nineteen. You have undergone extreme changes since that time, you know?" Ginny made to stand up from her bed and went to her bedside table with drawers. She opened a draw on the lower part and retrieved a hand mirror. She shoved it in her hands before flopping back down on the bed. "Go on, look at yourself."

Hermione didn't know what the point was but still, she obeyed the redhead and lifted the mirror in her line of sight. There, she saw herself peering from behind the mirror. She looked at her reflection intently like how Ginny told her too and she realized something. Ginny had just described her a few moments ago. Indeed, her eyes were glowing with a cheerful color of melted chocolate despite her impending doom. The edges of her eyebrows were perfectly smooth even though she hadn't plucked it even once. Her cheeks also had a rosy tinge even though she didn't wear any make-up. Her lips were full and pink without lipstick. And the sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose was accentuating the color of her eyes. The freckles were extremely visible against the light color of her fair skin. Her hair was no longer frizzy like when she was younger but it was now tamed and just naturally wavy. It had a combination of light and dark streaks. She thought it was weird that she had looked at this reflection on the mirror just that morning and what she saw just now seemed to have evaded her sight that morning.

"Beautiful girl, isn't she?" The voice of Ginny Weasley tore through her concentration.

"Huh?" She confusedly asked.

"The girl looking back at you from the mirror. She's beautiful isn't she?"

Hermione found herself automatically answering with a smile on her lips. "Yeah, she is."

Ginny gave her a chuckle. "Modest much, Hermione? I can see that humility is one of your best traits." She teased.

Hermione responded to her with a playful smack on Ginny's shoulder.

Ginny winked at her gleefully. "But really, Hermione, you're beautiful. Don't forget that. You're beautiful on the inside and the outside. I find it weird that you're confident and proud of what you know and what you can do but not of what you look."

"I'm not exactly saying that I'm ugly, am I?" Hermione defended.

"No, you're not. But you didn't exactly believe me immediately when I told you you're beautiful, earlier." Ginny pointed out. "Listen, Hermione. Don't look down on yourself. When you're confident of what you do and know, be confident of what you look. Only then will you really be able to fully appreciate who you are."

Hermione found herself smiling at what Ginny said. She found their situation kind of ironic. Here she was, Hermione Granger, who, according to herself, was fully appreciating her whole existence, being lectured by Ginny Weasley on how to appreciate not only your learned abilities but also the gifts already blessed to her.

"Wow, you realize you are lecturing me, right?" Hermione pointed out with a smile.

"Yeah. Kinda weird, isn't it? Usually, you're the one lecturing me about these things." Ginny agreed with a smile.

"But really, Ginny," Hermione started. "Thank you for that. I really appreciate it." She smiled at her best friend gratefully.

"I knew it would eventually have a bad effect on you." Ginny suddenly said.

Hermione fell confused. She felt like Ginny had swerved from one topic to another in a ragged, confusing manner. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You, having two male best friends, who are as thick as a concrete brick when it came to those things. I mean, I think those two wouldn't even realize you were a girl if it weren't for the bumps and curves on your body." Ginny exasperatedly said, her hands flinging incredulously outwards.

Hermione laughed as a memory of their fourth year suddenly flashed through her mind.

"_Hermione, you're a girl." Ron said as they sat at the Gryffindor table on the great hall, studying._

"_Very well spotted." Hermione wittingly answered._

"_Come with one of us." Ron said and then…a smack of paper against the hard skull of Ron's head echoed as Professor Snape passed by them._

"Well, on second thought, I think Ron still doesn't know you're a girl up until now." Ginny broke her from her reverie again.

"But he surely knew that Pansy is a girl." Hermione said.

"Well, you see, unlike you, Pansy actually showcases her curves and bumps in front of his eyes to prove her point." Ginny joked, her face contorting in disgust when she remembered the weird couple again.

Even Hermione groaned when she recalled how Pansy clung to Ron during their train ride. "Eew. You've just scarred me for life, Ginny." She shook her head to chase away the gruesome image that started to form in her head of Pansy 'proving her point' to Ron. "Spare me, please. Let's talk about something else, okay?"

"You're right. The sight starting to form in my mind is horrific." Ginny gave another grimace. "As I was saying before… you should make Draco Malfoy crazy for you."

Hermione held up her hand. "As I was asking before… how will I do that? He doesn't even like me."

"That's settled then." Ginny clapped her hands together. "Mission 1: Make Draco Malfoy like you."

Again, Hermione held up her hand and interrupted her. "Again, how am I going to do that if we love each other like how Umbridge loves Harry?"

Ginny moved beside Hermione and leaned her back against the headboard too. "What you have to do is be nice to him."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the leering face of Draco Malfoy flew to Hermione's mind. In her mind, she saw him sneer at her. She saw his lips starting to open. Then he uttered one word… 'Mudblood'.

"I'm not sure I can do that, Ginny." Hermione argued immediately. "I don't know if I can be nice to him." Her face started to darken in anger and her eyebrows furrowed in infuriation.

"Why is that?" Ginny asked with raised eyebrows.

"Because…" Hermione trailed. "Every time he opens his lips, I just want to…" Hermione took a deep breath before answering through gritted teeth. "Rip it open. There's nothing good coming out of the mouth of that git."

To Hermione's immense surprise, Ginny laughed loudly. She turned her irritated face towards Ginny. "What's so funny?"

Ginny's laughter turned to amused chuckling. "For a moment there, I thought you were gonna say 'Every time he opens his lips, I just want to kiss him.'."

Hermione's eyes widened incredibly. Her mouth opened and closed in rapid succession without a sound coming from it. The sight was rather amusing. Finally, she managed to stammer. "Wh-wh-what? Never in my life would I dream of kissing that arrogant git!"

"Really now, Hermione? Though he's arrogant, Draco Malfoy's one hot boytoy. You might regret that someday." Ginny teased her.

But Hermione wouldn't be teased. As a retort, she said, "Wait 'till I tell Harry that you think Malfoy's hot." Then, she smirked evilly.

"Don't you dare, Hermione Granger." Ginny warned. But her face betrayed the panic that immediately gulped her at the thought of Harry hearing she just called his arch enemy 'hot'.

"Hah!" Hermione triumphantly exclaimed. "Listen to this… I wouldn't ever desire to kiss that Malfoy. I'm sure his lips wouldn't even be worth kissing. I'm sure it's hard and cold and..." Did she dare say it? Yes, she did. "Tasteless. Just plain boring."

_You know that's not true. Or at least you hope it isn't, deep down… _Hermione heard a faint voice whisper in her ear. She didn't even see Ginny open her mouth so she dismissed it as her imagination.

"You're gonna eat your words someday, Ms. Granger." Ginny reprimanded to her.

Hermione turned her head to Ginny, her eyes turning to slits in doubt. "Wait, whose side are you really on?"

Ginny held her hands up in surrender.

"I'm telling you, Ginevra Weasley, the possibility of me lusting for Malfoy or feeling anything romantic for him will only be reality when Dumbledore turns out to be gay."

_Hermione, Hermione, Hermione you've never ever uttered anything more truthful than that…_

Blaise Zabini whistled happily, his hands stuffed in the front pockets of his light blue pajamas, as he made his way from their dormitory to the common room of the Slytherin dungeon. It was a bit past eight-thirty but he was a long way away from being sleepy. So he was now going to spend some quality alone time at their common room. But his plans were thwarted when he found tresses of platinum hair peeking from one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace. He knew only one Slytherin with a hair that pale…Draco Malfoy.

"Draco, what on earth are you doing here?" Blaise asked as he continued to walk towards the armchair in question.

In front of the fireplace sat two – one was occupied by Draco – armchairs on the left and a long couch on the right, facing each other.

Draco suddenly turned his head to look at the approaching Slytherin. "Oh, hey, Blaise. Took you long enough, huh?"

"Took me long enough to what?" Blaise finally reached him but instead of sitting in the other armchair beside the one occupied by Draco, he sat down on the couch, facing him.

"I've been waiting here for half an hour now, you know? What took you so long?" Draco said with an irritated voice. "I told Pucey to tell you I'd be here waiting for you."

"He didn't tell me anything. Besides, why are you waiting for me?" Blaise asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not the one who you share dormitories with and probably," He particularly gave stress to the word probably. "Sleep with tonight." He ended his teasing by wriggling his eyebrows at the irritated Malfoy.

Draco replied with a snort. "First, remind me to hex that Pucey next time I see him. Second, I am not gonna sleep with Granger! That would never happen. Don't even insult me like that ever again, Blaise, or you'll see what you're looking for."

Blaise saw that it was only an empty threat. Besides, even if it wasn't, Draco could never ever beat the crap out of him. He just couldn't. So he just laughed at the threat. "I'm not insulting you, mate. Besides, since when did Draco Malfoy start turning down an opportunity to 'have fun' with a hot girl?"

Draco almost fell off his chair when he heard what Blaise just said. "Wait, did you just call Granger, hot? Seriously, Blaise, since when did you stoop so low?"

"Oh come on, Draco!" He flung an emerald green cushion at the Slytherin Head boy's face. "Don't let your blood-status prejudices blind you. Granger's hot, admit it or not."

Draco managed to catch the pillow before it thwacked him in the face. He wasn't a seeker for nothing, after all. He tucked the pillow under his arm. He wasn't gonna hit Blaise back…yet. "Hot? You mean burning hot like I don't want to get my flesh near her because she'd harm it. You got it, mate."

"Seriously, Draco?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow. He lifted his legs and lied down on the couch. "Haven't you seen those smooth, long legs of hers? That slim waist and round hips? Yeah, I know you wouldn't be able to live with that always nagging lip of hers, but they're really kissable. And you're officially stupid if you don't think she's hot. It's so obvious, my friend."

A recent image of Hermione floated through Draco's consciousness as soon as Blaise started describing her. In Draco's mind, his eyes focused on every detail pointed out by Blaise. From her long legs that looked so flawless and smooth – he wondered how it would feel to run his fingers along her long limbs – to her slim waist and round hips – he wondered how it would feel like to wrap his arms around them – and finally, to her lips, full and pink. He wondered if it really were as soft as it looked. As soon as Blaise finished describing Hermione, Draco found himself blanking out. He shook his head hard to regain his calm and chase away the scene that had formed in his mind. _No, Granger is most definitely not hot._ He tried to make himself believe but it was in vain. "Please, Zabini, spare me of the horrifying image you're starting to inflict on my mind."

"What do you find wrong with her exactly, Draco?" Blaise continued to press him.

_Nothing._ A voice in the back of Draco's mind answered. He didn't know where it came from so he shook his head clear of it.

"I told you, she's a mudbloood. I wouldn't ever socialize with a mudbloood." Draco voiced out.

_No, you would want to socialize with her and maybe something more. It's the truth, admit it._

Blaise huffed at him and folded his legs in a cross-sitting position under him and gazed hard at Draco. "You can't still be that harsh when it comes to blood status. Even I've stopped giving it too much of a deal since three years ago. And we both know that I am crueler than you when it comes to blood purity when we were kids. I don't stop until I make muggle-borns cry in front of me before."

"That's what I don't get about you." Draco said as he scratched the back of his neck irritably. "Out of the blue, you just suddenly looked at mudbloods with puppy-dog eyes."

"It's not out of the blue, Draco." Blaise defended himself. "It's simply called 'growing up'." He lifted his hands and drew quotation marks in the air with his fingers.

"Oh please. You've just gone soft on them."

"If I did, what's wrong with that?" Blaise challenged. "There's nothing wrong with being friends with them. I've learned they're quite cool, you know? Especially when they talk about those muggle things they call gajets."

Draco rolled his eyes in a bored manner. He didn't know why the crap Blaise was crazy about muggle stuff. He found nothing interesting about something called gachets or whatever it was he just said. "I would never ever be friends with non-pure-bloods." He unconsciously mumbled out of habit as he busily fumbled with his nails. It wasn't purely true but he had been used to saying it, nonetheless.

"Yet you're childhood best friend is a half-blood." A female voice came from the stairs leading to the dormitories. Not long after, Draco and Blaise found themselves looking up at a girl only a few inches shorter than Blaise with black hair, – tucked in a loose pony tail – brown eyes and a slight darker complexion than Blaise's cream skin. She was wearing a loose lilac shirt and a white pajama bottoms. She was Camille Go, Draco's childhood best friend.

Camille Go, or Kam, (with a K, not a C) as she always insisted to be called, is Draco Malfoy's childhood best friend. Truthfully, even Draco didn't know why she always spelled her nickname with a K instead of a C. Draco just learned to go with it. It wasn't exactly wise to irritate her. She was always referred to by the other Slytherins as the she-serpent.

Draco met Kam when they were kids. She had suddenly barged in on the Malfoy back garden with a toy train clutched in her little hands and asked him to play with her. At that time, Draco didn't drive her away. It wasn't always that someone came over and wanted to play with him. Besides, he had been too curious as to why she was playing with a boy's toy and not a doll that he didn't even ask what her name was. They had spent the whole of that day together, playing with the toy train she brought and some other toys that Draco took from his room. It was only at dinner time that he learned her name.

Her birth name was Camille Jane Go. She was the only daughter and heir of the Go family, a family line even more pure and respected than the Malfoy clan. The Go family lived in another mansion only a short distance away from the boundary of the lot of Malfoy Manor. The head of the family, Master Armando Go was friends with Lucius Malfoy. When Draco and Kam first met when they were kids, Draco thought that she was, indeed, the only biological child of Master Armando and Mistress Dreana Go. But a year before he turned eleven, Draco learned the truth. She was not a biological child of the couple. Mistress Go wasn't to be blessed with a child because she was barren. Kam was their niece that they had taken under their care when she was a baby.

Kam's biological father, Mr. Aldean Go, the younger brother of Armando Go, was an auror who died in the first wizarding war just a few months before she was born. Her muggle mother, Emelia Go, on the other hand, died after giving birth to her. She was taken under the care of the Go family. Since then, they hadn't desired to adopt a different child and instead, just cared for her like she was completely their own blood and flesh. This bit of truth was known to Kam. And she had come to treat her uncle and aunt as her parents but her love and longing for her real parents was still there. She always said she loved being a half-blood. The only thing left to her by her mother was her part-muggle blood and she cherished it dearly.

"But you're different from her! I know you and I don't know her!" Draco argued.

"Exactly." Kam said as she sat down beside Blaise on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. "All you have to do is get to know her. And cha-ching, you'll be friends. It's as easy as that."

"It's not that easy!" Draco exclaimed. "How do you expect me to do that, exactly?"

Kam placed her hands over her knees and rested her chin on them. She smiled sweetly at her best friend. "Easy. You just stop being a 'Malfoy' when you're around her and start being 'Draco' or better yet, show her 'Drakie-poo'."

Blaise roared with laughter when he heard the nickname 'Drakie-poo'. It was the nickname that Kam had come up with and she always called Draco that just to tease him. Over the years, even Pansy started calling him that. To say that Draco hated being called that was an understatement. Actually, if Kam and Pansy weren't his best friends, he might've hexed them to the next century long ago every time they called him Drakie-poo.

"Drakie-poo!" Blaise squeaked in high-pitched voice quite similar to Pansy's normal voice and then laughed harder. "Drakie—" 'Whack!' Blaise's face just came in contact with the cushion Draco was previously holding.

"Wouldn't you ever stop calling me that?" Draco growled with a sour look on his face. He decided to ignore Blaise's angry shout. "Besides, how exactly can I stop being a 'Malfoy', seeing as I am a Malfoy?"

"I meant stop being arrogant." Kam answered matter-of-factly as though the name Malfoy meant 'arrogant' in a dictionary somewhere. "You see, when you don't act like yourself in front of a person, you are being Malfoy. When you don't trust the person in front of you, you tend to act differently. You're being arrogant and proud all the time whereas you're not really like that when you're around people you know all your life. When you're around Hermione and even the other Gryffindors, you tend to act as though you are the most invincible person in the world; you act as though you're above everyone; you tend to hide your vulnerability and therefore, hide who you really are. That's when you become Malfoy, when you become the person your parents wanted you to be but you hate to be. Just show her who you really are: the same old jolly, sarcastic joker we have here."

Draco gaped at Kam. "You want me to act in front of Granger as I act in front of you? Are you mental? I can't do that!"

"Give me three valid reasons why you can't do that and befriend her." Kam ordered, a triumphant smirk showcase in her lips. She knew Draco wouldn't be able to come up with even one valid reason.

Draco snorted and held out a finger confidently. "One, she's a mudblood." He held a second finger. "Second, she's friends with Potter." Finally, he held out a third finger. "Third, she's a bloody know-it-all." Then he held out a fourth finger and flashed a grin at Kam. "Fourth, I can't stand seeing her, let alone being with her. I can list more reasons but if I continue to list reasons why Granger is horrible, we would be here until tomorrow night."

Kam sighed deeply. "Okay, let's evaluate your reasons. If you ask me, none of those are valid."

"What do—" Draco started to argue but he was silenced by a cushion hitting him full on the face with a smack.

"She's talking, don't interrupt. I'd rather listen to her reasoning rather than your immature whining, Draco." Blaise scolded. He received a deadly glare as a reply from Draco.

"None of those are valid because…" Kam trailed. She held out a finger just like how Draco did just a while ago. "First, you can't give me any more 'she's a mudblood' and 'we, purebloods, are better than her lot' crap. Because we all know that she had done more for the wizarding world the past year than all of us Slytherins combined and you do know that almost everyone in Slytherin are purebloods. Don't give me that crap." She held out another finger. "Second, 'she's Potter's friend' isn't valid as well. What's the point of that if you, yourself, are already civil with Harry? Don't even forget how Harry had testified for your mum during her hearing. I even heard you thanking him earlier when you saw him on the platform back in London. There's nothing horrible about being a 'friend of Potter' if you don't think there's anything wrong with being acquaintances with Potter anymore." She held out a third finger. "Third, she's not a know-it-all anymore. She's just really naturally better than you." She finished with a straight face.

Draco's jaw dropped in disbelief after hearing all her reasons. He was speechless, especially after hearing Kam's last statement.

Because she didn't see any reaction coming, Kam decided to continue. "I only asked for three reasons but you gave four so I think it's only fair for me to give a reaction on the fourth one as well so it won't go to waste. 'I can't stand seeing her, let alone being with her.' Seriously, Draco? If I didn't know better, I'd say you're just avoiding her because you have a crush on her."

If Draco was surprised earlier, it wasn't anything near what he was now. He started opening and closing his mouth as though he wanted to say something but nothing came out of his throat. He ended up looking like a fish thrown out of the water.

A mirthful smile stretched Kam's lips as she saw the reaction of Draco. "Bingo!" She exclaimed as she turned to Blaise and raised her hand to meet his in a high-five.

"You hit the bull's eye!" Blaise chimed loudly as his eyes shone with amusement at the still-bewildered Draco.

"Drakie-poo, you look like a gaping fish." Kam said with another grin.

Draco composed himself immediately by shaking his head again. "Hey! I do not have a crush on her!"

_I say, you do._ The voice said again. Draco was already on the verge of thinking he'd gone insane. He was already arguing with himself. He was going mad.

"I hate her!" Draco exclaimed as a continuation.

"The more you hate, the more you love." Kam teased again.

Draco didn't know what was wrong with his best friends. Suddenly, out of the ordinary, his friends were pushing him towards Granger. He wondered what had gone wrong with their minds.

Blaise cleared his throat teasingly at Draco. When Draco refused to pay attention to him, he cleared his throat louder and added a wriggle of his eyebrows.

"Is there something wrong with you throat, Blaise? Should I cut it for you?" Draco asked with a feigned sweet smile as he turned his head to Blaise. "And you!" He turned to Kam.

"And me?"

"Remember this, the possibility of me having a crush on Granger or feeling anything romantic for her will only be reality when Professor Snape falls in love with a woman." Draco said with a confident smile. He was sure there would be no possibility of that ever happening.

_Oh, you might wanna think twice about that, my friend._

"But Professor Snape is already dead, Drake." Kam told him matter-of-factly.

"Exactly!" Draco answered with his own wriggle of his eyebrow.

"Wait!" Blaise butted in, "Well, how sure are you that Professor Snape had never been in love with someone before?"

"Oh, Blaise, trust me, I'm sure as hell." Draco said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The possibility of Professor Snape ever falling in love is as non-existent as the possibility of him ever caring for Potter. Trust me, he had never ever cared for Potter and he had never ever fallen in love."

_Boy, are you gonna be disappointed sooner or later._

"Tsh! There's no point in saying those things because you'll just eat them sooner or later." Kam said as she stood up from the couch and started fixing her clothes. "Now get your arse off that chair and go back to your dormitory."

"Ugh! Can't I stay here?" Draco whined.

"No." Kam refused with a single shake of her head. "You can't and you shouldn't."

"But I don't want to stay there with her."

Still on the couch, Blaise was snickering at the two best friends. _Not long now._ He thought to himself. Years of being with Draco and Kam had taught him what was most likely going to happen if Draco continued to whine to Kam. He had seen the event many times before but he was as far from being bored with it as Draco learning his lesson not to argue with Kam.

"Ugh! Don't make me make you go up there, Draco Malfoy. Get up!" She exclaimed at the blonde Headboy. But Draco didn't budge.

"I'll go there when I want to!"

Kam huffed with irritation and with one swift move, she seized Draco's right sleeve and started dragging him towards the door of the dungeon. "I told you not to provoke me. You never learn, do you?"

"He never will." Blaise was the one who answered Kam. He waved cheerfully to the thrashing Draco as the Headboy was dragged out and away.

"Get your hands off me!" Draco shouted at Kam. They were now out of their common room but Kam's hand was still clutching his right sleeve. As a result, he was forced to walk sideways and he couldn't even reach his wand – which was at his right pocket – because his hand was being yanked along with his sleeve. "This is ignominious, you know? I'm Headboy."

"Really? Then, act like one." Kam smiled sweetly at him. "And don't talk. You're giving me a headache."

Draco sighed in resignation and shut his mouth. He decided to stay quiet during the whole trek to his dormitory. He didn't even dare ask how Kam knew where the Heads dorms were.

After an exhausting trip up the staircases – Draco was amazed how Kam managed to drag him the whole time – they reached the entrance to the Heads' quarter. On the wooden black door, they found a huge (It almost covered the whole high door) unmoving painting of four people, whose faces they haven't seen before.

There were two wizards and two witches. The wizard perched on the flooring of the painting was wearing bright scarlet robes with a black pointed hat atop his head. A long silver sword was laid across his crossed legs. The other wizard, who was standing just beside the witch on the right and towering over the wizard in red, wore black robes and a dark emerald cloak pinned on his shoulder, a locket hung around his neck. The other witch sitting on the high chair beside the wizard in black and green, was a bit plump; she wore a gentle smile on her lips. She was wearing a flowing sunshine yellow dress and on her right hand, a golden cup was held. The last witch, who was sitting on another high chair beside the witch in yellow was a stern looking woman clad in a flowing blue dress. Atop her head, a tiara was glimmering.

Kam lifted her hand slightly to knock on the immobile painting when, to her surprise, the image of the man in bright scarlet robes lifted his arm and covered his face.

"Hey, don't knock on my nose!" The wizard yelled at Kam. The statement of the wizard in scarlet robes was followed by the laughter of the plump witch by whose foot the red wizard sat beside. "You can knock right here, just not on my nose." He pointed to the spot beside his head.

"That's my knees, Drick!" Objected the standing man in a green cloak. "You can knock on the frame of the painting, you know?"

Kam and Draco were taken aback by the sudden movement made by the people in the painting. It wasn't because they were surprised to see a moving painting – that was a simple and normal thing in the wizarding world. But they were surprised because they thought the picture was completely immobile but then it decided to scold them. As a result, they gaped freely at the four figures in the painting.

"You two are giving them a heart attack." Reprimanded the witch wearing dark blue robes. "Look, they're speechless." She pointed to the two Slytherins.

"Are you okay, sweethearts?" Asked the plump witch with a kind and concerned glint in her eyes.

"Y-y-yeah. We were just…" Kam tried to explain but she was still bewildered. She felt something weird. She felt as though she was supposed to know who these people were but she couldn't quite wrap her mind around their identities. It unnerved her.

"We were just surprised." Draco explained for Kam. "Who are you, people?"

A slightly irritated scoff was given by the man with the green cloak. He rolled his eyes at the new Headboy. "And here I was, thinking that you people would give full respect to your mentors. Turns out I'm mistaken."

"Wait, mentors?" Draco asked with a bewildered expression. "What do you mean, mentors. Who are you?"

"Oh!" Kam exclaimed as her fist pumped in the air in front of her. "I know you! Drake, don't you recognize them?"

"Should I?"

"Let us spare the young man from being bewildered much more. Let us introduce ourselves." Offered the man sitting at the floor. With a graceful movement, he stood up from the floor and stood beside the man in green. He bowed in a gentlemanly way and introduced himself. "Milady, Milord, Sir Godric Gryffindor at your service."

"It is my honour to introduce myself to two of the students from my house. I am Lord Salazar Slytherin." The man in black and green said as he bowed the same way Godric had.

The woman in a blue dress gave them a smile and a respective nod. "I am Lady Rowena Ravenclaw. I'm be glad to be at your service."

Finally, the fourth person on the picture gave them a warm smile and a nod similar to what Rowena had given the two. "Dame Helga Hufflepuff, my dears. How may we help you? And may we be as lucky to be given your names?"

"You're the four founders?" Draco asked the people in the picture, momentarily ignoring Helga's question. It was the first time he had ever seen a picture of the founders as vivid and lively as the one pinned on the door. Not to mention, they were harmonious with one another. Draco thought the painter must've wanted to showcase the wonderful friendship of the four rather than their rivalry issues. Even Slytherin and Gryffindor seemed like the best of friends.

Godric nodded and went back to his sitting spot on the floor while Salazar sat down on the arm of Helga's chair. "Yes. May we know who you two are?"

"I knew it! I was right. I knew there was something familiar with how you were drawn and those things with you." Kam said, her eyes landing on each of the accessories of the four founders. "I'm Kam, by the way. I'm the Headboy's friend." She pointed to Draco.

"You really are the new Headboy?" Salazar asked, a grin starting to show on his lips. His eyes shimmered with pride. "You're a Slytherin, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh." Draco mumbled. It felt weird for him to talk civilly with the founder of his house, who was always said to be known as a stern, almost cruel, man.

"I told you, Drick! You're not the only one! I didn't believe Minerva at first, but now, I do!" To Draco's surprise, Salazar clapped Godric's back and grinned widely at him, his chest puffing out in pride. "My house had sported another head this year, too!"

In return, Godric raised his arm and bumped it with Salazar's. "Way to go, Saz!"

Rowena cleared her throat loudly to get the attention of the two men. "Okay, you too, compose yourselves." She ordered. "We have visitors."

"You're no fun, Wena." Godric pouted, but still he fixed himself and turned his reaction back to the two Slytherins. "What can we do for you two?"

"We were just going to knock. Draco would like to enter their quarters." Kam answered with a smile.

"You can knock on the frame, sweetie. Wait till Hermione opens the door or if you want, we can permit you entrance now." Helga offered.

"There's no need to wait for the Headgirl." Salazar said. With a flourish of his hand, the door immediately swung open slightly. "The Headboy needs to enter. We have to do our jobs."

"Thanks." Kam thanked the people from the portrait. The four smiled at her in return. Then, Kam turned to Draco. "See, even the founder of our house finds nothing wrong with Gryffindors. Heck, Salazar and Godric even looked like they're best friends."

Draco, who wasn't as amazed in meeting the four founders as Kam was, rolled his eyes as a reply. "They're just portraits. They're not the real people, Kam. Don't get your hopes up."

"What are you talking about? They're the closest painting of the real thing that I've ever seen. The other paintings don't even look as good as this one. And Gryffindor and Slytherin are really best friends. It says so in Hogwarts: A History. That is before the whole blood-purity thing. But still…" Kam started but she wasn't able to continue what she was about to say for in front of them, Hermione Granger appeared.

"Uh, hello. What can I do for you?" Hermione asked with a puzzled face. She didn't know who the girl in front of her was. Therefore, she felt quite awkward to find her in front of the Heads' dormitories.

Upon seeing Hermione, Kam reached behind her and yanked at Draco's sleeve once more. She pulled him nearer to the entrance and smiled bashfully at Hermione. "Oh, hello, Hermione. I'm Camille, but you can call me Kam – with a K, not a C. I found your ferret prancing around the Slytherin common room. I just thought you might want him back. Here he is." Then, she shoved Draco through the door towards Hermione. "You're welcome."

"Oh, uhh…okay…" Hermione stammered as she immediately jumped out of Draco's way.

"Kam, I'm never going to miss you after I graduate." Draco said with an irritated face to his best friend as he regained his balance. It wasn't entirely true. But whenever Kam turned into an irritating younger sister, Draco always felt grateful that he would graduate one year before her. At least, he's get a year break away from her.

"Awwwe." Kam cooed. She smiled sweetly at Draco. "I'll miss you too, Drakie-poo." She said, ignoring the fact that Draco said he wouldn't miss her. With that, she smiled at Hermione and left.

Draco scoffed indifferently and walked towards the staircase to his dormitory without even a word to Hermione.

Hermione, in turn, didn't talk to Draco as well. Instead, she pulled the door close.

"Hmmm. That's interesting." Godric mumbled as the door closed.

"You think they'd learn to be friends despite their apparent rivalry?" Helga worriedly asked. They were talked to by the Headmistress just that afternoon and she warned them of the deep rivalry between the new Heads.

"Oh trust me, Helga, it can't be otherwise." Rowena answered. "We've been witnesses to different stories that took place in this dormitory. Each of those is more complicated than these two's and all of them ended up being friends and so much more."

"You bet, Wena." Said the smirking Godric. "I can't wait to see what story these two would write together."

"That, we all are." Said an agreeing Salazar…

"Shoving that dolt through a door took you that long?" Blaise asked Kam as he leaned his head against the back of the couch in the Slytherin common room. Since Kam left with Draco in tow, he didn't move and just waited for her to come back.

Kam sat back down beside Blaise. "Well, it is the seventh floor and you know how heavy Drake is, pulled a lot of effort out of me." She pouted as she leaned her head against Blaise's shoulder. She had just come back to the Slytherin common room after delivering a special Headboy package. "Oh and we had a chat with the four founders."

"The portrait, you mean?" Blaise clarified.

"Yep." Kam lifted her head from Blaise's shoulder and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You know about that?"

"Uh-huh." Came Blaise's curt answer.

"How?"

"Two years ago, I see them almost regularly." Blaise answered with a shrug.

"You see them? That means you go to the Head's dorms." It wasn't a question. It sounded more of an accusation. Kam stared at Blaise suspiciously. "What exactly did you do there with Andrea?"

"What? What are you talking about and why are you looking at me like that?" Blaise asked defensively. "Yes, I dated Andrea, the Headgirl from two years ago, but I didn't do anything. I just walk her back to the quarters every time she spends some time with me. That's all. I wasn't doing anything inappropriate. You don't need to look at me suspiciously like that." He defended himself.

Out of Blaise and Draco's two female friends, Pansy was more like the one who always encouraged or discouraged them and usually gave them an idea who they should and shouldn't date. Kam, on the other hand, was more like the one who kept them in check when it came to how they act, especially with girls. Simply said, after Pansy evaluates the girls they date, it was up to Kam to keep them both from doing anything stupid to those girls or with those girls. To be truthful, Blaise thought the habits of the two girls kept him and Draco balanced. Without Pansy and Kam, they would be insufferable playboys or worse, hopeless boy toys.

Kam snorted irritably. "You better didn't. Or else, I might have to take over Pansy's job and tell every girl not to date you if that's what you're gonna do with them." She was still all about glory and protecting girl's reputations against the stupid boys she called best friends.

Blaise gave her a simple shrug. "Whatever. I'm not into dating anybody this year." He moved away from Kam first and then lied down on the couch, his head on her lap.

Kam was taken aback – not by Blaise's action, he always did that, but by his statement. "Are you serious?" She gave a chuckle. I never thought I'd see the day Blaise Zabini, the ultimate charmer and playboy, refuses dating. Wow!"

Blaise gave another indifferent shrug of his shoulders. "I'm just into something else this year, I think."

"And what is that?"

Blaise looked up at Kam. He appeared to think deeply for a moment before he answered. "I don't know, really. I just have this strange feeling, a desire, to be involved with the two heads of this batch. I just feel compelled to do something about them. It's like I want them to be friends or whatever. It's strange but I really feel like I should be involved. I don't even know why. Do you get what I mean?"

"Hmmmm." Kam tried to ponder about what Blaise had said. Yes, she knew what he meant and she got what he meant because she herself was feeling the same thing. She also didn't understand why but she felt like there was some invisible force of the nature, or whatever crap it is, that was compelling her to want to draw Draco and Hermione together. Not really together, together, but to draw them closer, to make them befriend each other. She also didn't know what it meant but she thought it would be a great idea. "I think so. I'm feeling the same. What do you think we should do about it?"

Blaise's lips turned up in a lopsided smirk. "I think we might need to do some pushing over. What do you know about match-making?"

Kam's wide smile was enough of an answer…

The entity of truth stood staring at one of the two screen-like rectangle floating above a game board, that was currently being arranged by his two co-entities, Destinn and Valentino. As far as he knew, they were preparing for yet another game of chess involving the blonde-haired wizard he was currently watching on the screen he was staring at and the brown-haired witch being shown on the other screen.

Thenos was the entity of truth. He was called that because he had the power to read the minds of any human he wanted to focus on. Whether the humans wanted to or not, their thoughts couldn't be hidden from Thenos. Aside from that, Thenos also had the power to influence human mind. He usually used that power in the form of communicating with the humans as a voice in the back of their minds. The unknowing humans often called him their conscience. It always bugged Thenos how female humans never found it odd that their so called 'conscience' had a deep male voice. Hermione Granger was no difference. She didn't find it odd that Thenos' voice had just whispered to her minutes ago.

"So, you are playing chess once again?" Thenos clarified. The brown-haired entity had his green eyes trained on the entity he decided to favor at that moment – Valentino. Thenos was the only other entity present at that time. He reckoned the other ones were somewhere else or maybe on earth and arranging some errands of their own. He, on the other hand, wasn't busy at all. Having a job like his, he didn't need to go to earth. His only job was to assist the other entities if certain things or certain information was needed to be gathered from the humans. And if they needed him, all they have to do was come to him.

"Yep." Val answered as he placed a bishop on the rightful square on his chessboard. After the bottom of the chess piece came in contact with the surface of the board, it glowed a bright red color. After the light vanished, he continued placing the other pieces on their correct places. "So, I take it you're siding with me this time?"

"Yep. Because this time, you have sense." Thenos said. He chuckled at Destinn after hearing a snort come from the entity of Fate. "Admit it, my friend, Val has sense this time."

Destinn decided not to give any comment.

"Hey, I was right the last time we played, too. Only, I lost." Valentino defended himself. Until that time, he still thought to himself that he was right with what he had played for the last time. Even though he lost, the effects of that certain game still lingered until the last breath of the male human involved in it.

"Nope, you're not. I was actually very happy when Destinn won back then. If he didn't, the wizarding world on earth would've been dead by now. I mean, how could you really think that having Lily Evans choose Severus Snape over James Potter is the right thing?" Thenos asked Val accusingly. He earned a very deep scowl with it. "But still, thanks to that game and thanks to you helping Snape love Lily, Harry had help all those times he needed it. Thanks for losing, mate."

Val gave a scoff. "Whatever makes you happy." He finished with a roll of his eyes as he placed his second queen on the other side of the sole king.

Thenos chuckled lightly before he turned his attention back to the scene happening on earth. The two other entities continued placing their powers on the chess pieces and the chess pieces on the game board.

Just like what he had done with Hermione, Thenos gave Draco a taste of his powers. He had argued with the boy about what he thought about Granger. Thenos found it quite amusing that the boy kept denying what Thenos was insisting, whereas Thenos had based his own arguments from the unconscious part of the boy's brain. _Tsh, humans and their weird minds._ He thought to himself as he continued to watch Malfoy argue not only with his friends but also with himself. At that moment, he was sure that delving into the minds of the two would give him extreme entertainment.

Just then, Thenos saw another entity approaching them.

"Hey, what's going on?" A black-haired entity asked Thenos as he studied the two other entities, that were sitting across one another with a chessboard in between them, with his azure eyes. He was, Finred, the entity of friendship.

"Hey, Fin!" Val greeted his friend. "We were just having a game again. Wanna choose a side?"

"Although I always end up siding with you on these games, I'd like to know the situation first." Finred told Val as he situated himself beside Thenos and glanced at the two screens that Thenos was also intent on surveying.

Without taking his eyes off the screen, Thenos explained the situation to Finred. "They're playing about Malfoy and Granger. Granger made the oath of Fate to swear for a bet. She lost and as a consequence, she has to make the Head boy fall in love with her. The Head boy happened to be Draco Malfoy."

"Whoa, did you just say what I think you said?" Fin asked Thenos with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep, you heard right. Granger and Malfoy are gonna be the new pawns on this dolt's game board." Thenos said. He flicked Val's ear playfully, which was ignored by the still busy entity.

"Hmmmmm." Fin placed his finger under his chin as he thought deeply. "I think I'm gonna side with Val."

"Just as usual." Thenos rolled his eyes. "You two really are best friends huh?"

Fin flashed him grin. "Of course." Then, he turned to Val. "Mate, you better win this. I'm not gonna side with you and lose again. I don't want my powers being wasted like what you did with Lily and Sev last time. Their freakin' friendship was destroyed because you lost."

"We'll win this time, I know it." Val assured his friend. "There, done!" He said as the red glow of the pawn he had just settled down on the board died down. He looked at Destinn's side and saw that he was about to be finished as well.

"I think you know what to do now, Fin." Thenos told Fin. "I don't need to touch that board to get involved in this. I'm gonna have fun on my own by reading their minds and watching. But I'm with you too, Val."

"Aren't the others going to join? You have no one on your side, Dest!" Fin told Destinn.

Destinn snorted indignantly. "I can win this on my own. I don't need any help."

"Whatever you say." Fin said as he reached out and touched the edge of the board with the tip of his finger. The board shortly glowed a bright white light.

"Okay, now we play." Destinn said with an expressionless face as he surveyed Val's chess board intently. Unlike the other chessboards that the other entities used when they have time to waste, Val's game board could only be used on these occasions. Unlike the normal chessboard, Val's chessboard was twice the size and twice and had the number of pieces (except the king) of a normal chessboard. Meaning, the gameplay was longer than normal. Not to mention the players took a longer time to make a move because even the simplest move could have huge effects on the subject of the game.

"Well, white moves first so you move first." Val instructed.

Destinn seemed to ponder deeply over what his first move would be. Moments ticked by and Val waited patiently for him to make a move. Finred and Thenos watched the scene unfolding on earth as they waited for Destinn's move. But even before Destinn could lift a hand to make his move, another entity arrived.

"Ooooh, you're playing again?" A female entity with blonde hair and brown eyes similar to Val's came to stand beside the sitting Destinn. She was Dharette, the entity of hatred and the twin sister of Valentino. "Looks like you have nobody on your side now, Dest."

"Shut up, Dharette." Destinn told her.

A smirk formed in Dharette's lips as she leaned down and whispered in Destinn's ear. "I'll side with you just like last time. But I have an errand to run. So I'll help you make a move that'll have a lasting effect until the end of that game." She finished. She was sure nobody else but Destinn had heard what she said. She straightened up and looked at Valentino, who was glaring at her.

"What are you planning?" Valentino suspiciously asked. He could see the playful glint on his sister's eye even though he heard nothing. If he was called 'the risky one', his sister had earned the title of 'the naughty one'. Even a single smirk from Dharette couldn't mean a good thing.

Dharette mockingly smiled in a sweet manner at her suspicious brother. "Nothing special." She said to him as she started walking towards her brother.

Valentino carefully followed Dharette with his eyes, his hands poised in alert in case Dharette did anything. He wouldn't let her do anything that could harm the game. He sighed with relief once Dharette had passed the board, his hands flopped down to his side. But to everyone's surprise, the female entity turned around and with one swift flick of her hand, knocked four chess pieces from Val's side – three pawns and the castle.

"Uh-oh…" Was the only thing that Finred could mutter as he watched the board light up a bright blue and the pieces that had fallen from the board disintegrate even before it could hit the ground that their feet were standing on.

"This can't be good." Thenos mumbled as he shook his head despondently. Even though he knew it wouldn't take effect immediately, he knew there would be a huge effect on the two humans they were watching after. Unconsciously, his eyes trailed back to the former two screens in front of him, which had now combined into one and showed just one scene. It now showed a frustrated Draco Malfoy standing at the threshold of their dormitory with a shocked Hermione Granger standing beside him and looking at the Slytherin female that Draco called his best friend.

Val looked as though he was about to blow up with anger once he saw his chess pieces disintegrate in thin air. He knew, even though they were only four of his pieces, it was a big blow to his chances in winning.

Even Destinn stared with wide eyes at the retreating back of Dharette. At that moment, he became sure that that was what she meant with a move that would last until the end of the game because all of them knew that that certain sabotage would have a dire effect on the lives of Draco and Hermione…

Only…none of their speculations neared even the quarter of the real effect of the event. No one knew that that certain move would be the reason for the greatest hindrance Draco and Hermione were yet to discover…

A/N: There ya go. I know I said on the last chapter that I'd update the following day but this turned out longer than I expected. It took me days to write this. I'm sorry if it's too long but I had to get this over with. The first three chapters are kinda like a three-part introduction to the new characters and the plotline of the story. So I had to do this. I apologize if it bored you but please send me a review and tell me what you think about it. It really helps, you know? And tell me your ideas. Maybe we can work something out and use your ideas for the better development of this fic. Thanks again and please review!


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